Related News
US tightens security, seeks source of parcel bombs
Source: Agencies |
October 30, 2010, Saturday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
THE United States today searched for the culprits behind a plot to bomb Jewish targets in Chicago uncovered by the interception in Britain and Dubai of parcels with explosives sent from Yemen.
US President Barack Obama vowed yesterday that US authorities would spare no effort to find the source of the packages, which he called a "credible terrorist threat" aimed at two places of Jewish worship.
Obama said security would be increased for air travel for as long as necessary. US officials said they were searching for more packages that could have come from Yemen, which has become a haven for some anti-American militants.
The security threat unsettled Americans just days before they vote in midterm congressional elections that have been dominated by economic woes rather than the issue of terrorism.
Suspicion fell on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which operates out of Yemen and claimed responsibility for a failed plot to blow up a US plane over Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009.
The group is affiliated with al Qaeda, whose militants killed about 3,000 people using hijacked passenger jets in the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
"Initial examinations of those packages have determined that they do apparently contain explosive material," Obama said at a press briefing at the White House.
The White House said "both of these packages originated from Yemen" and Obama was informed of the threat on Thursday.
One of the packages was found on a United Parcel Service cargo plane at East Midlands Airport, about 260 km north of London. The other was discovered at a FedEx Corp facility in Dubai.
UPS and FedEx, the world's largest cargo airline, said they were halting shipments from Yemen. UPS planes were searched and then cleared in New Jersey and Philadelphia.
The White House said Saudi Arabia helped identify the threat from Yemen, while Britain and the United Arab Emirates also provided information.
Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, would not say how the United States learned of the plot. But he told reporters: "We were onto this. We were looking for packages that were of concern."
Of the plotters, Brennan said: "Clearly they are looking to identify vulnerabilities in our system. We've been able to stay ahead of them."
US President Barack Obama vowed yesterday that US authorities would spare no effort to find the source of the packages, which he called a "credible terrorist threat" aimed at two places of Jewish worship.
Obama said security would be increased for air travel for as long as necessary. US officials said they were searching for more packages that could have come from Yemen, which has become a haven for some anti-American militants.
The security threat unsettled Americans just days before they vote in midterm congressional elections that have been dominated by economic woes rather than the issue of terrorism.
Suspicion fell on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which operates out of Yemen and claimed responsibility for a failed plot to blow up a US plane over Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009.
The group is affiliated with al Qaeda, whose militants killed about 3,000 people using hijacked passenger jets in the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
"Initial examinations of those packages have determined that they do apparently contain explosive material," Obama said at a press briefing at the White House.
The White House said "both of these packages originated from Yemen" and Obama was informed of the threat on Thursday.
One of the packages was found on a United Parcel Service cargo plane at East Midlands Airport, about 260 km north of London. The other was discovered at a FedEx Corp facility in Dubai.
UPS and FedEx, the world's largest cargo airline, said they were halting shipments from Yemen. UPS planes were searched and then cleared in New Jersey and Philadelphia.
The White House said Saudi Arabia helped identify the threat from Yemen, while Britain and the United Arab Emirates also provided information.
Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, would not say how the United States learned of the plot. But he told reporters: "We were onto this. We were looking for packages that were of concern."
Of the plotters, Brennan said: "Clearly they are looking to identify vulnerabilities in our system. We've been able to stay ahead of them."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
