Farouk after failed attempt in 2009. -CNN photo |
A story from the Homeland Security
News wire gave the insight on how the CIA in collaboration with other
International agencies thwarted the attempt to attack the US interest.
The CIA has foiled a second attempt
to down a U.S. airliner by means of an underwear bomber. This device was more
sophisticated than the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt over Detroit in
2009. The 2009 scheme was inspired by Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in a CIA
drone strike in Yemen last September.
This new bomb, currently in the
hands of the FBI, is similar in construction but includes a more sophisticated
detonation mechanism. It also contains no metal, making it likely it will avoid
detection at airport security checkpoints. It is not currently known whether
the device would have been discovered by a full-body scanner.
It is not clear who built the bomb,
but, because of its sophisticated modifications and its similarity to the
Christmas bomb of 2009, counterterrorism officials suspected it was the work of
master bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri or one of his protégées. Al-Asiri
constructed the first underwear bomb and two others which al Qaeda built into
printer cartridges and shipped to the United States on cargo planes
in 2010.
According to Fox News, the intended
suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or purchased a
plane ticket when the CIA stepped in and took control of the device. It is also
unclear what happened to the intended bomber.
A U.S. official told Fox News
that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) remains “committed to striking
targets in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the Homeland, and Europe. And AQAP is probably
feeling pressure to conduct a successful attack to, from their perspective,
avenge the deaths of bin Laden and Awlaki.”
“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 26 April.
“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 26 April.
The Associated Press learned about the operation
last week, but the Obama administration requested that AP withhold releasing
the news, since the sensitive intelligence operation was still underway.
On Sunday, Fahd al Quso was killed
by a drone missile strike as he stepped from his car. Al Quso was wanted by the
FBI for his role as mastermind of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and was
believed to have become AQAP’s head of operations following the killing of
al Awlaki.
“The device never presented a threat
to public safety, and the U.S. government is working closely with international
partners to address associated concerns with the device,” the FBI said in a
statement.
Some maintain that the government statements of reassurance were based on the
fact that the CIA had already thwarted the plot some time ago, and had the explosive
device under its control.
Culled from the Homeland Security
News Wire
0 comments:
Post a Comment