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Cobra meeting over Yemen explosives alert 
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The government's emergency planning committee is meeting to discuss the discovery of a suspected explosive package on a cargo flight from Yemen.

The device - a printer cartridge with wires protruding - was found on a plane at East Midlands Airport on Friday, and sparked an international terror alert.

The flight was bound for Chicago. Another device was found on a Chicago-bound cargo plane in Dubai.

The home secretary has said there was no indication that the UK was a target.

Home Secretary Theresa May will chair the emergency committee, known as Cobra.

She said air security for cargo planes was under review. Direct flights from Yemen to the UK were suspended in January 2010.

Mrs May said on Friday it was unclear whether the package was a "viable explosive device", while the US described it as a "credible terrorist threat".

Yemen is considered a source of a growing threat of extremist violence, with the Labour government earlier this year vowing to do more to combat it. The UK was working with the US to strengthen counter-terrorism there.

Former home secretary Lord Reid said the discoveries were "an awful, terrible reminder" that terror threats in general were continuing." He urged vigilance, even when there were no incidents.

Lord Reid was home secretary when increased air security measures for passengers were introduced, including banning liquids, in the wake of a UK plot to blow up trans-Atlantic planes about four years ago.
'Terrible nature'

"It is quite easy to make a bomb and therefore the utmost vigilance is required," he said.

He said it was unclear whether Friday's discoveries represented a rehearsal or were intended to detonate either en route or in the US.

"What cannot be speculated on is the terrible nature of this threat and the intention and capability to commit mass murder," he added.

Aviation expert Chris Yates said he had been told that the printer cartridge device also had a mobile phone attached. It could work as a remote detonation device, triggered by a phone call from anywhere in the world.

He said it was probably not possible to detonate while in the air, as mobile phones are short-range devices, and are out of range while at altitude.

"Cargo has always been seen as the Achilles heel of the aviation system," Mr Yates said.

"Measures aren't necessarily as robust as one might imagine, so it's entirely possible that in some parts of the world a device such as this can be infiltrated into the cargo handling system and transported around the world.
Jewish targets

UK terror expert Dr Sally Leivesley said the device looked very sophisticated in the way in which the explosive powder was concealed inside the printer cartridge, and as it was so large it could be devastating.

US President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan said the US was "remaining vigilant."

The packages were destined for Jewish places of worship in Chicago, Mr Obama said.

"We also know that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - a terrorist group based in Yemen - continues to plan attacks against our homeland, our citizens and our friends and allies," Mr Obama said.

The alerts were:

* Suspect package found at Dubai
* Suspect package found at East Midlands Airport
* Three cargo planes owned by the freight company UPS searched in Newark and Philadelphia
* US fighter jets escorted Emirates flight 201, which was carrying cargo from Yemen, from Dubai into New York
* Suspect package from Yemen examined on a delivery lorry in New York
* BA flight from London to New York met by authorities amid reports of search of its cargo

Mr Obama stressed that new aviation security measures were being taken in the US, "including additional screening".
Powerful explosive

US officials told Associated Press they believed the packages contained PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) - the explosive used in the failed bombing of a US-bound airliner last Christmas Day - although full testing was not complete.

BBC world affairs correspondent David Loyn said the incidents would raise the question of screening cargo, particularly as PETN is undetectable by scanners, but also raise issues about Yemen itself.

He said it was the poorest country in the Middle East, adjoining the richest - Saudi Arabia, and that Yemen has been surprisingly stable, despite a worsening civil war.

The UK has tried to work through the government, but our correspondent said he expected an examination as to whether there should be a more direct policy to prevent the growth of al-Qaeda in Yemen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11657742

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Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:46 am
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I'm not one for conspiracy theories in the main but I do find it incredibly coincidental that this came up about 24 hours after the ex chairman of BA said that large chunks of the security they put people though at Airports are unnecessary and pointless.

Not that those checks would have stopped this given it was in hold luggage rather than carry-on but how many people are actually going to notice that detail?

Jon


Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:49 am
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Legend

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I've seen enough 'coincidences' here in NI to know what you mean :evil:

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Sat Oct 30, 2010 11:58 am
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My first thought to.

Either:
a) Good intelligence. Nah.
b) Planned by the West. Good timing to keep the funds going for "security", handy for those in the shadows in the White House with the mid-terms to remind the US that Bush didn't protect them.
c) A distraction run to keep eyes focussed away from the main plan.
d) I could go on....

If it was a terrorist plot it would be extremely stupid. Just as we're all discussing relaxing airport security it would make no sense to do anything to prevent that. They're not stupid.

Mind you I'm still highly suspicious of many aspects of the whole "terror" thang.

Edit: Some countries are a bit miffed by an increase in security when they consider this a postal incident.

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Sat Oct 30, 2010 12:26 pm
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jonbwfc wrote:
I'm not one for conspiracy theories in the main but I do find it incredibly coincidental that this came up about 24 hours after the ex chairman of BA said that large chunks of the security they put people though at Airports are unnecessary and pointless

Completely agree - the timing is too spot on to be coincidental.


adidan wrote:
b) Planned by the West. Good timing to keep the funds going for "security", handy for those in the shadows in the White House with the mid-terms to remind the US that Bush didn't protect them.
c) A distraction run to keep eyes focussed away from the main plan.

+1 for each of those.

I wonder if this means they're going to push through extra rules/policies now or use it push an agenda.

My other concern is whether this is a distraction not by the Govt but by the terrorists in order to plan something much more subtle. Something obvious and detectable gets picked up, meanwhile something more innocuous-looking gets missed.

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Sat Oct 30, 2010 1:57 pm
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Maybe another attempt by the security service to be exempt from austerity cuts? While it does look dodgy, I do think that this is just a coincidence. It does not increase the real risks of terrorism for the majority, which are simply infinitesimal. The baggage rules were over the top anyway.

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Sat Oct 30, 2010 6:00 pm
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