US Authorities Investigate Suspicious Packages on Cargo Planes
Explosives Found as per POTUS
May based her assessment on a preliminary British investigation of the incident.
Napolitano also told U.S. media Saturday the investigation is ongoing and that the content of the packages must be analyzed to draw the proper conclusions.
But she said the packages appeared to contain the chemical explosive PETN , the substance used in a failed plot to bomb a U.S. airliner last year. That plot has been linked to al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has pledged full cooperation with the investigation into the packages.
U.S. officials say the packages were discovered after Saudi Arabian intelligence gave the United States information related to the plot. The discovery prompted intensified security and searches of cargo planes at airports in the eastern United States.
Update 3 1630 29 Oct 2010: U.S. President Barack Obama says authorities have uncovered “a credible terrorist threat” against the United States with the discovery of suspicious packages on U.S- bound cargo planes.
Officials believe the packages are linked to an al-Qaida branch based in Yemen.
Speaking at the White House Friday, President Obama said two packages, which were intercepted overseas, originated in Yemen and were bound for places of Jewish worship in Chicago.
The president said the U.S. will continue to strengthen its cooperation with Yemen’s government to destroy the al-Qaida branch in that country, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
President Obama also said counterterrorism authorities are taking all steps necessary to ensure the safety of the American people.
Earlier Friday, authorities in the U.S., Britain and the Middle East increased security measures at airports and air-cargo facilities after the suspicious packages were found on cargo planes bound for the United States.
Air passengers faced tighter security measures at U.S. airports, and television news programs were filled with urgent reports about every detail of cargo searches aboard international flights.
At midafternoon , U.S. military jets escorted a passenger plane from the United Arab Emirates to its destination at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Most of the searches, however, involved cargo planes, including those operated by the international delivery service UPS.
President Obama’s spokesman Robert Gibbs said the investigation began Thursday, when intelligence and law enforcement officials uncovered potential suspicious packages on two UPS cargo planes flying to the United States. Two suspicious packages dispatched from Yemen also were found in Britain and Dubai.
Authorities who opened one of the suspicious packages in Britain said it contained a toner cartridge from a computer printer, with wires protruding from the cartridge and a quantity of a white powder that did not appear to be dangerous.
Original: U.S. officials are investigating suspicious packages on cargo planes at two northeastern airports.
Authorities say the planes are at Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey. Newark is just outside New York City.
The aircraft have been moved away from other airplanes as authorities investigate.
As per the President, explosives were found in at least one package
UPDATE: packages originated in Yemen and shipped through UK. Other packages from point of origin have been investigated and cleared.
UPDATE (1500 Eastern) (Update 2 1600Eastern Follows):
Authorities in the U.S. Britain and the Middle East have increased security measures at airports and air-cargo facilities after suspicious packages were found on cargo planes bound for the U.S.
The White House says President Barack Obama was informed of a potential terrorist threat Thursday.
A White House statement says U.S. authorities have been directed to take steps to ensure the safety of the American people and determine whether the threats are part of "any additional terrorist plotting." Authorities say passengers will face enhanced security at the nation's airports.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs says intelligence and law enforcement officials on Thursday discovered potential suspicious packages on two UPS cargo planes that were on their way to the United States. He said two suspicious packages that originated from Yemen were found in Britain and Dubai.
Shipping giant FEDEX on Friday suspended all deliveries from Yemen after a suspicious package from Yemen was confiscated in Dubai.
At least one of the packages found in Britain contained a toner cartridge with white powder and wires.
UPDATE2 (1600 Eastern):
Authorities in the U.S., Britain and the Middle East increased security measures at airports and air-cargo facilities Friday after suspicious packages were found on cargo planes bound for the United States.
U.S. officials are describing the situation as “a potential terrorist threat,” but they disclosed few details, apart from noting that most of the incidents involved packages originally shipped from Yemen to the United States.
At the White House, President Barack Obama prepared a statement on international security .
The president’s spokesman says Mr. Obama directed U.S. authorities to ensure the safety of the American people and determine whether terrorist activity triggered the security alerts.
Air passengers faced tighter security measures at U.S. airports, and television news programs were filled with urgent reports about every detail of cargo searches aboard international flights.
At midafternoon , U.S. military jets were escorting a passenger plane from the United Arab Emirates to its destination at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Most of the searches, however, involved cargo planes, including those operated by the international delivery service UPS.
President Obama’s spokesman said the investigation began Thursday, when intelligence and law enforcement officials uncovered potential suspicious packages on two UPS cargo planes flying to the United States. Two suspicious packages dispatched from Yemen also were found in Britain and Dubai.
Unconfirmed reports said the suspect packages were addressed to religious sites, including a synagogue, in Chicago.
Authorities who opened one of the suspicious packages in Britain said it contained a toner cartridge from a computer printer, with wires protruding from the cartridge and a quantity of a white powder that did not appear to be dangerous.
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