Parcel bomb explosion was primed US eastern coast - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

At least one of the parcel bombs planted on cargo planes heading for Chicago last month was primed to explode once the aircraft reached the eastern coast of the United States. The Daily Express quoted a Scotland Yard spokesman, as saying that the device discovered at East Midland airport was timed to explode at 10.30 a.m. British Standard Time. He further added that had the aircraft continued on its flight schedule as normal, it would have been in U.S. air space at that time. Both bombs were in packages that originated in Yemen and were addressed to Jewish organizations in Chicago . Authorities moved in to neutralize the bombs after receiving a tip-off from a former Guantanamo Bay detainee and Al Qaeda fighter. Both bombs contained quantities of the powerful explosive PETN. The device discovered in the UK contained 400 grams of the lethal ingredient - 50 times more than needed to punch a hole in the aircraft's skin - and was wired to a mobile phone. It has also been revealed that the device discovered in Dubai was transported on two passenger jets from Yemen before it was intercepted.

Parcel bomb was primed to explode once aircraft reached US eastern seaboard