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British played central role in foiled bomb operation - sources

10 May 2012 22:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. British intelligence played a central role in the undercover investigation to foil an underwear bomb plot involving al Qaeda’s Yemeni offshoot, APA reports citing Reuters.

The Obama administration had been under heavy pressure not to disclose the role of British authorities in the investigation. The foiled plot ended with the explosive device being delivered to the FBI, which is examining it.

U.S. officials revealed publicly on Monday that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP, tried to arm a suicide bomber with a non-metallic device that was an upgraded version of the "underwear bomb" which was carried onto a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day 2009.

U.S. officials had said the plot was foiled by the CIA and allied foreign intelligence services, without identifying the allies.

The FBI was studying the device at its lab at Quantico, Virginia, and U.S. officials say it bears the hallmarks of fugitive Saudi militant Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, suspected of being a bomb-maker working with AQAP.