U.S.-bound bombs from Yemen seized

WASHINGTON — Authorities intercepted two packages from Yemen that contained explosive materials and were directed at synagogues in Chicago, representing a “credible terrorist threat,” President Barack Obama said Friday.

The discovery, by officials in the United Kingdom and Dubai, triggered an examination Friday of three air-cargo flights that landed in Philadelphia and in Newark, N.J. An Emirates airline passenger plane was escorted by fighter jets to New York because of concern about a package on board from Yemen. Nothing suspicious was found on the planes, according to the FBI.

Authorities are trying to “understand who is behind” the explosives and “the scope of the threat that we might face,” John Brennan, Obama’s homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, said at abriefing Friday at the White House. Brennan said authorities are doing forensic analysis and examining intelligence that might indicate “how this was going to be used.”

“The United States is not assuming that the attacks were disrupted and is remaining vigilant,” Brennan said.

Additional steps are being taken to screen cargo, Obama said in remarks at the White House. Brennan said it is “prudent” to ensure that packages from Yemen are “looked at very carefully.”

The discoveries spurred United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. to put an embargo on shipments from Yemen, where groups linked to al-Qaida are known to operate.

“The American people should know that the counterterrorism professionals are taking this threat very seriously and are taking all necessary and prudent steps to ensure our security,” Obama said, without taking questions from reporters.

The packages containing explosive material were the size of a breadbox, according to Brennan. He didn’t answer questions about the explosives or how they could have been detonated. The first package was found in East Midlands Airport near Nottingham in central England, Brennan said.

Saudi Arabia helped uncover the shipments of explosive materials, Brennan said later in a statement.

Authorities didn’t name the places of worship to which the packages were addressed. Neither was directed to the synagogue near Obama’s home in Chicago, said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary.

Obama said he and his top intelligence aides concluded that there was “a credible terrorist threat against our country” and pledged to “destroy this al-Qaida affiliate” based in Yemen.

Obama was notified about the case at 9:35 p.m. Central time Thursday by Brennan, setting in motion a response that included the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration, Gibbs said.

One package was found at a FedEx facility in Dubai, said Maury Lane, a spokesman for the Memphis-based company.

UPS hasn’t confirmed whether the U.K. package was at one of its facilities. The Atlanta-based company said the FBI checked packages on three jets from Europe, two of which landed in Philadelphia and the other in Newark.

Yemen figured into the U.S. inquiry of the last major security threat on a U.S. jetliner, the attempted bombing of a Delta Air Lines Inc. plane on Dec. 25. Obama told reporters in January that evidence indicates that the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was trained and equipped by a Yemeni group affiliated with al-Qaida.

POWERFUL EXPLOSIVE

Preliminary tests indicated that the packages contained the powerful industrial explosive PETN, the same chemical used in the Christmas attack, U.S. officials said. The tests had not been confirmed.

Most of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the ongoing investigation.

The radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who now is in hiding in Yemen, is believed to have helped inspire recent attacks including the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings; the Times Square bombing attempt in New York; and the failed Detroit airliner bombing last Christmas. Another American hiding in Yemen, Samir Khan, has declared himself a traitor and has helped produce al-Qaida propaganda.

No UPS planes take offor land in Yemen, and there are no direct flights from the country to either the U.S. or the U.K., according to a statement from the British Embassy in Washington.

The Yemeni government has stepped up counterterrorism operations with help from the U.S. military and intelligence officials. Mohammed Shayba, general director of the state airline’s cargo department, said the government is conducting an investigation.

“Those in charge are in constant meetings, and they are investigating and taking the issue seriously,” he said.

The Yemeni government expressed astonishment at reports linking it to the packages but said in a statement that it was cooperating with the U.S. and international investigations. The statement warned against “rush decisions in a case as sensitive as this one and before investigations reveal the truth.”

Checks for explosives are required for all 4.2 billion pounds of freight shipped on passenger planes annually within the U.S., plus goods on flights headed for international destinations, under a U.S. rule that took effect in August.

UPS, the world’s largest package-delivery company, screens shipments that will be carried on passenger jets, although it doesn’t have to screen cargo on its own planes, according to the company’s website.

The discoveries in Dubai and England set off a day oflaw enforcement investigations stretching from the Persian Gulf region to Emirates Flight 201, which originated in Dubai. It was escorted to New York’s Kennedy airport by military jets because it carried cargo from Yemen, the FBI said.

Flight 201’s crew didn’t mention any issue with cargo, passengers said. They were told there was a heightened security concern and that their bags would be searched but weren’t told why. They also didn’t know about the interest in their aircraft until they saw it on TV screens in the airport and glimpsed the mob of waiting reporters.

“We saw a lot of police, and they instructed us that we would be getting on a bus. And that all our luggage would again be screened,” said Nick Chan, 32, who was returning to Manhattan from a business trip.

David Packles, a 23-year old financial analyst returning from a vacation to Thailand, said he hadn’t noticed fighter jets tailing the plane and didn’t think the 20 extra minutes they spent on the tarmac was that unusual.

“It’s a 14-hour flight. Everyone was just kind of exhausted,” he said.

AIRPORT SECURITY

The Homeland Security Department said it was boosting security at airports, including more-thorough screening of cargo.

“Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams and pat downs,” the agency said in a statement.

The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, a nonprofit charity group, was advising local synagogues to take “appropriate precautions” Friday after being notified by authorities to be on alert, Linda Haase, a spokesman for the group, said in a telephone interview.

An official at the Chicago office of the Anti-Defamation League, David Schneider, said the office was alerted by the FBI on Friday morning to take precautions. The FBI specifically included warnings to keep an eye out for suspicious packages arriving by mail.

A UPS truck that had been stopped in Brooklyn for a suspected explosive device was cleared after an investigation, Paul Browne, a spokesman for the New York City Police Department, said in an e-mail.

U.S. intelligence officials warned last month that terrorists hoped to mail chemical and biological materials as part of an attack on America and other Western countries using the mail. The alert came in a Sept. 23 bulletin from the Homeland Security Department and obtained by The Associated Press.

Information for this article was contributed by Justin Blum, Roger Runningen, Mary Jane Credeur, Hans Nichols, Jeff Bliss, Joe Sobczyk, Maher Chmaytelli, Mohammed Hatem, Chris Dolmetsch and Patricia Hurtado of Bloomberg News and by Carla K. Johnson, Michael Tarm, Samantha Gross, Lolita C. Baldor, Tom Hays, Eileen Sullivan, Matt Apuzzo, Kim Gamel, Ahmed Al-Haj, Hamza Hendawi and Paul Schemm of The Associated Press.