U.S. officials are investigating several suspicious packages apparently sent from Yemen via DXB and the U.K. to U.S. destinations. The packages found are said to have contained items such as motherboards, wires, white powder and a container similar to a printer cartridge - but, no explosives.
The packages have been found on UPS and FedEx cargo aircraft and such planes on the ground in PHL are in the process of being searched. Another cargo aircraft has already been searched at EWR.
Earlier this afternoon, an EK passenger aircraft en route from DXB to NYC was intercepted by fighter jets while over Canadian airspace and escorted to JFK. The safety concern was not deemed sufficient to force the aircraft to land at the closest airport and it continued to its final scheduled destination.
Apparently a branch of al-Queda has claimed responsibilty for the items and the alerts. The U.S. received the tip from one its allies about packages coming from Yemen destined for synagogues in Chicago, CNN reported, citing an unidentified person in law enforcement.
President Obama is expected to make a statement on the current situation this afternoon and the U.S. cable networks are providing live continuing coverage.
“It looks either like a dry run or an act of mischief,” Richard Falkenrath, a principal at Chertoff Group and former deputy commissioner of counterterrorism at the New York City Police Department, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “But there is a significant vulnerability that someone may be probing, and that is cargo aircraft entering U.S. airspace.”
Security checks are expected to be ramped up immediately and in the days ahead.
