Terror plot targeting Chicago synagogues foiled

Authorities are investigating "suspicious packages" that were on planes in transit from Yemen to the United States. Parcels and cargo planes have been searched in the US, UK, and Dubai, and it's been confirmed that some of the packages contained explosives.

Authorities on three continents thwarted multiple terrorist attacks aimed at the United States from
Yemen yesterday (Friday), seizing two explosive packages addressed to Chicago-area synagogues and packed aboard cargo jets.

US President Barack Obama called the coordinated attacks a «credible terrorist threat,» and U.S. officials said they were increasingly confident that the group responsible for the failed Detroit airliner bombing last Christmas Christmas - Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - is responsible for this latest attempt, with preliminary tests indicating the packages contained the same chemical used in the Christmas attack.

President Obama the Yemeni government is cooperating.

The radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who now is in hiding in Yemen, is believed to have helped inspire recent attacks including the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing attempt and the failed Detroit airliner bombing last Christmas Day.

Another American hiding in Yemen, Samir Khan, has declared himself a traitor and has helped produce al-Qaida propaganda.

U.S. intelligence officials warned last month that terrorists hoped to ship chemical and biological materials as part of an attack on the US and other Western countries using the mail.

Obama administration officials say the United States is not assuming that the attacks were disrupted and is remaining vigilant.

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