Report: Earlier delivery to Chicago may have been dry run

Nov 2, 2010, 6:11 GMT

Washington - Packages shipped to Chicago from Yemen in September were searched by US intelligence, officials said Monday, and may have been a dry run for the explosive devices discovered last week on Chicago-bound flight, US news media reported.

The earlier packages were found to contain books, papers, CDs and household items, officials were quoted as saying by the ABC news network late Monday. As no explosives were discovered, they were then delivered normally.

The packages had been sent from someone in Yemen known to have links to the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), to what appeared to be 'random addresses' in Chicago, officials were quoted as saying by the New York Times.

At the time of the discovery, authorities 'considered the possibility that AQAP might be exploring the logistics of the cargo system,' an official was quoted by the daily as saying.

The discovery raised concerns about the group's interest in Chicago, especially after the city's skyline featured in a magazine published by its propaganda division.

On Friday, explosives were discovered in transit at airports in Dubai and Britain in packages from Yemen.

The packages contained toner cartridges rigged with the explosive powder pentaerythritol tetranitrate, and were addressed to Jewish institutions in Chicago, the New York Times quoted officials as saying.

Intelligence officials believe that terrorists might have intended to use the couriers' online tracking facility to detonate the explosives over a strategic target.

The packages may not have been intended to reach their destination, the officials were quoted as saying, as the addresses were outdated, and the names of the institutions had been replaced with names of prominent figures from the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition.

Germany, France and Britain said Monday they had banned air freight from Yemen, after an earlier ban by the United States.

US and Yemeni officials have stepped up the hunt for Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, 28, believed to be the group's top technical expert.

The Saudi national is thought to have designed the underwear explosives discovered on a Detroit-bound flight in December, and another bomb used in an attempt on a Saudi official's life last August, the Times said.

Yemen also intended to lay terrorism-related charges against US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, believed to be connected with December's attempted bombing, officials were quoted as saying late Monday.

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