IEDs discovered on two planes

10/29/10 Intelligence and law enforcement agencies discovered suspicious packages on two planes in transit to the United States.

Based on close cooperation among U.S. government agencies and with foreign allies and partners, authorities were able to identify and examine two suspicious packages.

Two IEDs that contained PETN - one found in the United Kingdom, the other in Dubai - originated in Yemen. It appears the devices were designed to be detonated by a cell phone with the help of a smaller amount of a second unidentified explosive substance.

The printer found in Dubai was addressed to a US synagogue. A closed electrical circuit was connected to a mobile phone SIM card hidden inside the printer.

Investigators tracked down 13 additional packages sent from the same Yemen address. Twelve packages never made it to the U.S. - but three did.

Two of them were tracked to the truck in Brooklyn, while the one other was on a UPS plane that landed in Newark. None of the packages that reached the U.S. contained explosives.

President Obama confirmed that authorities had uncovered a "credible terrorist threat". The White House thanked the Saudis for providing key intelligence, including tracking numbers for the packages.