Advertisement

Europe gripped by parcel bomb scare

Share with X

LONDON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- European anti-terror forces are on high alert after bombing attacks in Greece and Turkey and the discovery of a parcel bomb from Yemen destined for the United States on a plane that landed in Germany and Britain.

British Prime Minister David Cameron had an emergency meeting Monday to discuss potential government measures in response to the foiled parcel bomb plot, which laid bare the weak spots of air transport security.

Advertisement

Cameron "is concerned to make sure that we are taking all the steps necessary" to boost security in that sector, his spokesman said.

Police found parcel bombs aboard two planes in Britain and Dubai, hidden in courier packages addressed to synagogues in Chicago.

The package found in Dubai was on a plane by Qatar Airways. The airline said in a statement the explosives "were of a sophisticated nature whereby they could not be detected by X-ray screening or trained sniffer dogs."

The plane intercepted in Britain was sent from Yemen via Cologne, Germany and was parked at East Midlands Airport near Nottingham before it was to continue its trip to the United States. The plane was reportedly due to explode in mid-air.

Advertisement

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has since launched an emergency working group tasked with identifying where and how air transport security can be improved. Britain, Germany and France have stopped letting in transport planes from Yemen.

The BBC reports that authorities were tipped off by Jabr al-Faifi, a former al-Qaida member based in Yemen who surrendered to Saudi authorities two weeks ago.

Meanwhile in Europe, a bomb addressed to the Mexican Embassy in Athens exploded at a delivery center in the center of the Greek capital Monday, injuring a female worker.

Two men nearby were arrested. They carried weapons and two mail bombs, one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the other to the Belgian Embassy, officials said.

A package addressed to the Dutch Embassy that also contained explosives was intercepted at another delivery firm.

The mail bomb scare comes as a suicide bombing attack Sunday in Istanbul wounded 32 people. Authorities in Turkey suspect Kurdish separatists behind the attack but the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has denied responsibility, claiming it was still honoring a previously announced truce.

"There is no way we would be involved in such an attack on a day our organization was getting ready for a step towards peace and a democratic solution," the group said in a statement.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines