Al-Qaeda planned to use 'updated underwear bomb' to bring down U.S.-bound plane on anniversary of bin Laden's death

Al-Qaeda planned to use 'updated underwear bomb' to bring down U.S.-bound plane on anniversary of bin Laden's death

• Device believed to be absent of metal and 'undectable'
• Would-be bomber had not yet chosen a plane or a target, officials say

By Associated Press

PUBLISHED: 16:05 EST, 7 May 2012 | UPDATED: 18:39 EST, 7 May 2012

New terror alert: The feds say Al-Qaeda planned to strike on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death

The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with an 'undetectable' new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, The Associated Press has learned.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. 

This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al-Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said.

The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said.

The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said.

They said the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector.

But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.

Sen Dianne Feinstein, of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Monday that she had been briefed about an 'undetectable' device that was 'going to be on a U.S.-bound airliner.'

There were no immediate plans to change security procedures at U.S. airports.

The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or bought his plane tickets when the CIA stepped in and seized the bomb, officials said.

It's not immediately clear what happened to the alleged bomber.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said President Obama learned about the plot in April and was assured the device posed no threat to the public.

'The president thanks all intelligence and counterterrorism professionals involved for their outstanding work and for serving with the extraordinary skill and commitment that their enormous responsibilities demand,' Hayden said.

The operation unfolded even as the White House and Department of Homeland Security assured the American public that they knew of no al-Qaeda plots against the U.S. around the anniversary of bin Laden's death.

Old bomb: Pictured here is the slightly charred and singed underwear which housed the explosives used by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

'We have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death,' White House press secretary Jay Carney said on April 26.

On May 1, the Department of Homeland Security said, 'We have no indication of any specific, credible threats or plots against the U.S. tied to the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death.'

Suspect: Authorities believe the updated underwear bomb was the work of master bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri

The AP learned about the thwarted plot last week but agreed to White House and CIA requests not to publish it immediately because the sensitive intelligence operation was still under way. 

Once officials said those concerns were allayed, the AP decided to disclose the plot Monday despite requests from the Obama administration to wait for an official announcement Tuesday.

U.S. officials, who were briefed on the operation, insisted on anonymity to discuss the case, which the U.S. has never officially acknowledged.

It's not clear who built the bomb, but, because of its sophistication and its similarity to the Christmas bomb, authorities suspected it was the work of master bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. 

Al-Asiri constructed the first underwear bomb and two others that al-Qaeda built into printer cartridges and shipped to the U.S. on cargo planes in 2010.

Both of those bombs used a powerful industrial explosive. Both were nearly successful.

Al-Asiri, of Saudi Arabia, was believed killed in a drone strike last year, but Yemeni officials quickly denied his death.

The operation is an intelligence victory for the United States and a reminder of al-Qaeda's ambitions, despite the death of bin Laden and other senior leaders.

Since the death of bin Laden in a daring U.S. Navy SEAL raid on his Pakistan compound, the terror group is believed to have shifted its interests from Afghanistan to Yemen.

Because of instability in the Yemeni government, the terrorist group's branch there has gained territory and strength.

It has set up terrorist camps and, in some areas, even operates as a de facto government.

Killed: Senior Al Qaeda leader Fahd Al-Quso was killed today during an airstrike in Yemen, Yemeni officials said

But along with the gains there also have been losses. The group has suffered significant setbacks as the CIA and the U.S. military focus more on Yemen.

On Sunday, Fahd al-Quso, a senior al-Qaeda leader, was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his vehicle along with another operative in the southern Shabwa province of Yemen.

Al-Quso, 37, was on the FBI's most wanted list, with a $5million reward for information leading to his capture. 

He was indicted in the U.S. for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in the harbour of Aden, Yemen, in which 17 American sailors were killed and 39 injured.

Al-Quso was believed to have replaced Anwar al-Awlaki as the group's head of external operations. Al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. airstrike last year.

AL-QAEDA'S CHANGING PLAN OF ATTACK

Since the terror attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda has put different types of plans into action in numerous Jihad plots. While none of the plots have been successful, they have brought change to airport screenings and other security measures.

• December 2001: Just months after the 9/11 attacks, Richard Reid tried but failed to ignite explosives located in his shoes on a Paris-to-Miami flight. As a result, travellers were required to remove their shoes during screening checkpoints.
• May 2002: American citizen Jose Padilla was suspected of a plot to construct and detonate a radioactive 'dirty bomb,' but was arrested before he could put such a plan into action.  He was convicted of conspiracy charges in August 2007.
• May 2003: Iyman Faris, aka Mohammed Rauf - another American citizen - was charged for his role in a plot to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge by using blowtorches to sever its cables.
• August 2006: British authorities uncovered a liquid explosives plot designed to take down transatlantic airliners travelling between the UK and the U.S. and Canada. A total of 25 suspects were arrested. The revelations prompted the TSA to crack down on all li quids brought aboard planes.
• May 2007: The 'Fort Dix Six' were picked up by the FBI for their elaborate plot to attack soldiers at the New Jersey Army base with grenades and assault rifles. That December, five of the six suspects were found guilty of conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism and various weapons charges.
• December 2009 (the original underwear bomb plot): On Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to blow up a Netherlands-to-Detroit aeroplane by igniting explosives that were stitched into his underwear, but the explosives failed to detonate properly. Abdulmuttalab, who was burned in the incident, was arrested after receiving treatment for the burns. The incident prompted U.S. authorities to intensify the use of full-body scanners and thorough pat-downs.
• October 2010: Explosives resembling those used by Richard Reid and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab were found to be stashed in printer cartridges sent to synagogues in Chicago. Both bombs , which were believed to have been constructed by al-Qaeda's expert bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, failed to detonate.
• Last week: Al-Qaeda's online magazine Inspire outlined instructions on how to produce ‘ember bombs’ for the purpose of igniting devastating forest fires in Montana.
• Also last week: The U.S. stepped up security at airports on the day before the bin Laden anniversary amid fears that terrorists may be using bombs surgically implanted under inside their bodies, another product of al-Asiri.
• Today: U.S. authorities foiled what was to be an 'updated' underwear bomb plot designed to bring down a U.S. airliner around the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death.
  

• Thousands of pills filled with powdered human baby flesh...
• Losses at Oprah's OWN approach a staggering $330m as...
• Woman, 22, given two life sentences for allowing professor,...
• A dark corner of America: Photographs show Philadelphia's...
• 'I ate 20,000 calories a day, had a 6ft waist... and last...
• Video of college student who leapt from roof of 3-storey...
• Teacher, 28, 'had sex with her virgin student, 16, in...
• 'Tanning mom' mocked in Saturday Night Live sketch brands...
• Al-Qaeda planned to use 'updated underwear bomb' to bring...
• 'My life has been shattered': Teacher, 24, sobs in court as...
• 'I just want to take some deep breaths': Hillary Clinton...
• Au revoir, Carla! The Rottweiler wants to be France's new...

Share this article: