Saudis Gave US Intel on Parcel Bombers
CNN reports:
Washington (CNN) -- The United States received intelligence from Saudi Arabia early last month about a possible terror plot involving the use of at least one airplane, a U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN on Saturday.
The official confirmed that the intelligence indicated that one or two planes may be used simultaneously, and that the plot would unfold within a week or so.
The source was responding to a New York Times report Saturday that Saudi intelligence officials had tipped off the United States that al Qaeda's arm in Yemen -- known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP -- was planning a terror attack, "three weeks before a plot to send parcel bombs on cargo planes was foiled at the last minute."
The story, citing U.S. and European officials, said an October 9 warning was a "much more detailed" alert than an initial tip in July that warned of an attack against the United States or Europe.
However, the U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN that "The information we received in early October contained no mention of cargo planes, or the precise details of the plot -- to include what planes might be involved, where they might originate, or who the perpetrators might be," the official said. The source also wouldn't confirm the October 9 date.
