CIA Thwarts New Underwear Bomber Terror Plot

Submitted by Cheston Catalano

Officials say there was no threat to the public here, which involved a U.S.-bound airliner from Yemen.

The device recovered has the hallmarks of previous devices used by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP,) including be made of the same explosive material PETN. The bomb was designed to avoid detection at metal detectors. A law enforcement source tells CBS News that indications are that it would not have been picked up under normal x-ray machines, but possibly body scanning machines, which would have warranted a more intrusive search, but it would be dependent on an alert, skilled TSA agent.

Officials are saying that the work is believed to be that of bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asiri, described as a prolific and talented bomb maker. Another prominent AQAP figure, Fahd al-Quso, killed recently in a drone attack, is believed to have played a part in the plot, but officials deny his assassination was linked to an attempt to thwart the plot.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.