Young Yemeni Woman Arrested over US-bound Jet Bombs

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh speaks to reporters in the capital Sanaa, saying that a girl was believed to have sent bomb parcels on US-bound flights. Photo by BGNES

Security forces in Yemen have arrested a female medical student suspected of shipping bombs found on two cargo jets in Dubai and the UK, BBC reports Sunday.

The unnamed young woman and her mother were arrested at a house in the capital, Sanaa, after being traced through a phone number left with a cargo company. She is described as a medical student and the daughter of a petroleum engineer.

Abdel Rahman Burman, the lawyer for the arrested student, confirms that she had been detained on suspicion of involvement in sending the two packages, voicing concern the girl is a victim because "it didn't make sense that the person who would do this kind of operation would leave a picture of their ID and their phone number."

The two packages, discovered Friday, were addressed to synagogues in the Chicago area, and were apparently inserted in printer cartridges. Authorities say it was the work of a professional.

Dubai and UK officials point out the bombs had the trademark of al-Qaeda while US media report a Saudi-born bombmaker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, is their prime suspect. He is believed to be one of the leading figures in Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the organizer of a suicide attack last year on the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. The prince survived, but the bomber - al-Asiri's brother - used PETN, the same explosive found in the suspect package in Dubai.

Yemeni President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, said the US and the United Arab Emirates had provided Yemen with information that helped identify the woman. He pledged that his country would continue fighting al-Qaeda "in cooperation with its partners," adding Washington has been impressed by the speed and determination the Yemeni authorities have shown in their response.

Yemen closed down local offices of the US cargo firms UPS and FedEx, who have already suspended all shipments out of the country.

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, said the authorities had immediately banned packages coming to or through the UK from Yemen, and was considering further steps.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, is quoted giving an assurance that "no freight coming from Yemen will arrive in Germany."

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