Yemen on hunt for Al Qaeda suspects

Editor's update: As Yemeni forces continue their search Sunday for suspected Al Qaeda militants, some of the pieces are starting to fall into place. Investigators examining explosives found in packages intercepted in Britain and Dubai suspect the material points to the role of a specific, sophisticated bomb-maker in Yemen. Moreover, U.S. officials said Sunday that the bombs were destined for two addresses in Chicago "associated with synagogues" there, but were designed to detonate on the planes. Also, Qatar Airways says one of the two bombs posted from Yemen last week was transported on two passenger planes before being seized in Dubai.

SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni forces searched Saturday for suspected Al Qaeda militants behind a plot to bomb Jewish targets in Chicago.

The parcels with explosives were sent from Yemen and intercepted in Britain and Dubai as a result of a tip from Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni security forces set up checkpoints across Sanaa on Saturday, searching vehicles and carrying out identity checks, in the hunt for the militants.

In the U.S. security agents are looking for any other suspicious packages. President Barack Obama said American authorities would spare no effort to find the source of the packages which he called a "credible terrorist threat" aimed at two places of Jewish worship.

One parcel intercepted in Dubai contained a bomb hidden in a printer cartridge which bore all the hallmarks of Al Qaeda, said Dubai police whose experts defused the device.

"The parcel was prepared in a professional way where a closed electrical circuit was connected to a mobile phone SIM card hidden inside the printer," a Dubai police statement said, according to Reuters.

The other parcel, intercepted in Britain, was a similar explosive in a printer cartridge that was linked to a cell phone. The explosive device could have destroyed the airplane, said British autorities. 

The discovery of the two parcel bombs heightens security concerns about Yemen, which is seen as the center of an active wing of Al Qaeda.

Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and one of its leading figures, U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlak, have been priority U.S. targets since the group claimed responsibility for a failed plot to blow up a U.S. jet on Christmas Day last year.

The bombs apparently used the same chemicals that had been used in the Christmas Day plot. Dubai police said they found pentaerythritol trinitrate in a printer and cartridge, the same chemical explosive used in the bomb sewn into the underwear of a Nigerian man who has been charged with attempting to blow up the airliner last Christmas.

There was no immediate claim or responsibility for the parcels but U.S. officials suspect AQAP which is affiliated with Al Qaeda, whose militants killed 3,000 people using hijacked airliners in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The White House said Saudi Arabia had helped to identify the threat from Yemen while Britain and the United Arab Emirates also provided information.

On Saturday, dozens of heavily armed police and military forces were scattered across the Yemeni capital, including the diplomatic quarter and the large ring road around the city, stopping cars and questioning passengers, a Reuters witness said.

Yemen had also stepped up security at its air and seaports, a security official told Reuters.

Obama said security would be increased for American air travel for as long as necessary. U.S. officials said they were searching for more packages that could have come from Yemen.

Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, said: "Yemen has promised a thorough investigation into the major security incident on Friday involving packages sent from Yemen containing explosive materials destined for the United States.

Two suspicious packages being flown from Yemen to the United States were found in Britain and Dubai on Friday after a tip prompted authorities to search cargo planes on both sides of the Atlantic.

The discovery of the packages destined for Jewish places of worship in Chicago, unleashed an international security alert Friday as investigators swept U.S. cargo planes for possible Al Qaeda bombs.

“The Yemeni government has launched a full scale investigation. We are working closely with international partners — including the U.S. — on the incident,” Yemen Embassy spokesman Mohammed Albasha said on Friday.

Yemeni authorities had earlier played down the possibility of multi-suspect packages leaving the country.

"No UPS or DHL cargo packages heading to Chicago through Yemen took place in the last 48 hours. These accusations are false and baseless," Mohammed al-Shaibah, Air Cargo Director for Yemenia Airways, told local press on Friday.

But a statement by the White House on Friday afternoon indicated that the packages had originated from Yemen.

“Although we are still pursuing all the facts, we do know that the packages originated in Yemen,” President Barack Obama said at a White House press conference.

Obama said the discovery represented a “credible terrorist threat” against the U.S.

Yemen Export regulations prohibit the sending abroad of weapons, firearms and explosives. In order to export goods from Yemen a customs declaration is required to be filed including a certification of origin and a bill of lading.

“All packages are checked very carefully in Yemen,” said Mohammed al-Shaibah on Friday.

FedEx, the world’s largest cargo airline, confirmed that the suspicious package seized at its Dubai facility originated in Yemen. It had suspended all shipments, originating from the coutry, a spokesman added.

There are currently no direct passenger flights from Yemen to the U.K or the U.S. In January, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the cancellation of all direct flights following the attempted terrorist attack on a Detroit flight by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

The failed attack on Christmas Day 2009, believed to have originated in Yemen, was the first operation mounted outside the Middle East by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemen-based organization with close links to the Al Qaeda core in Pakistan. (Read GlobalPost's primer on Yemen's festering hotbed of extremism.)

“Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula continues to plan attacks on our homeland, our citizens and our friends and allies," said Obama on Friday.

Obama said Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president of Yemen, had pledged his government's support in efforts to root out terrorist plots in the country.

Yemen, the poorest Arabian state and the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, has recently stepped up its fight against Al Qaeda, launching a series of airstrikes in the southern province of Abyan. The country has received on average between $20 and $25 million annually in total U.S. foreign aid. In 2010 U.S. aid to Yemen was more than doubled to $58.4 million. The Defense Department has also provided Yemen's security forces with $150 million worth of training and equipment this year.

With additional reporting from Iona Craig.