Al Qaeda plotting new Lockerbie-style bombings
November 1st, 2010 - 4:14 pm ICT by IANS
London, Nov 1 (IANS) The Al Qaeda may be planning to conduct new “Lockerbie-style” atrocities, and Britain could be among the frontline targets, experts have said.
Fears of a new Lockerbie-style bombing have increased after it emerged that one of the two bombs posted from Yemen was carried aboard two passenger planes before being seized in Dubai.
A bomb hidden in a suitcase on a Pan Am jet killed 270 people Dec 21, 1988, when it exploded over the Scottish village called Lockerbie.
US President Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser John Brennan said all nations had to fear the worst.
“We have to presume there are more mail bombs on the way. It would be very imprudent to assume there are no others,” he was quoted as saying by The Mirror.
The explosive device was on a Qatar Airbus A320 from Yemen’s capital Sanaa to Doha and from there it was transferred on to another Qatar Airways plane.
The second bomb was removed by bomb disposal experts at Britain’s East Midlands airport.
The bomb was not due to explode for several more hours - when the aircraft would be over US cities.
A report said that devices, hidden in printer ink cartridges, were to be detonated by timers rather than mobile phones, which cannot receive a signal above 2,000 feet.
This means that instead of waiting until a plane is over the US, bombs could be timed to explode over European cities. And because it is a huge hub for international air freight, Britain faces the highest risk of attack.
One counter-terror official said: “It would appear Al Qaeda went for the jackpot this time, striking at America’s heartland, and missed.”
“The terrorists have tried repeated so-called dry runs. Next time they may lower their sights and simply detonate at the earliest opportunity. And that presents the spectre of Lockerbie on Britain all over again.”
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- Yemen bomb went on two passenger jets: Qatar Airways (Lead) - Oct 31, 2010
- UK officials deny 'Yemen bomb defused 17 minutes before scheduled explosion' - Nov 05, 2010
- Suspicious device at Namibia airport was part of U.S. security test - Nov 19, 2010
- Yemen-based Al Awlaki may succeed Osama - May 05, 2011
- Earlier flight might have been dry run for parcel bomb plotters - Nov 02, 2010
- Qatar Airways says parcel bomb found in Dubai traveled on passenger flights - Oct 31, 2010
- Police: Bomb found on UPS plane could have detonated over U.S. East Coast plane - Nov 11, 2010
- Al Qaeda tried to blow up US plane by using dogs - Nov 06, 2010
- Al Qaeda using dogs as bombs to bring down aircrafts - Nov 06, 2010
- UK to re-screen air cargo from India, Pak in wake of recent parcel bomb plots - Nov 07, 2010
- Al-Qaeda tried to use explosives-filled dogs to down U.S. cargo plane - Nov 06, 2010
- Dutch delivery company TNT steps up security following mail bombs - Nov 11, 2010
- Explosive found on US-bound planes were used in past Qaeda plots: NYT - Oct 31, 2010
- Intending underpant bomber was British double agent - May 11, 2012
Tags: airbus a320, atrocities, barack obama, bomb disposal experts, east midlands, east midlands airport, european cities, explosive device, international air freight, john brennan, lockerbie, mail bombs, national security adviser, pan am, passenger planes, printer ink cartridges, qatar airways, report said that, scottish village, security adviser john