Onderschepte bommen in pakketvracht uit Jemen leiden tot verhoogde veiligheidsmaatregelen (en)
Governments have stepped up security restrictions in response to last week's interception of two parcel bombs aboard cargo planes in the UK and Dubai, while a separate discovery of four parcel bombs in Athens (one destined for French President Nicolas Sarkozy) has added to fears of a fresh wave of militant attacks.
Germany on Monday (1 November) announced a ban on all passenger and cargo flights from Yemen - the hub of al-Qaeda activity in the Arabian Peninsula and believed to have been the starting point for the two explosive devices discovered on Friday.
The parcels - with powerful PETN explosives hidden inside printer toner cartridges - were sent from Yemen's capital, Sana'a, via UPS and another US cargo firm, FedEx, said officials. Both packages were addressed to synagogues in the US city of Chicago.
One bomb travelled on two passenger planes before being seized in Dubai, while the other passed through Germany and almost slipped through Britain before being discovered on a plane at East Midlands Airport.
British authorities said the device was probably intended to detonate mid-air and have announced a review of all aspects of the UK's air freight security, together with restrictions on the transportation of ink cartridges.
The Netherlands, France, Canada and the US have also halted all incoming cargo consignments from Yemen, prompting an angry response from the country.
Brandishing Germany's flight ban a "collective and illogical punishment," a Yemeni official added that the measure was a "hasty and exaggerated reaction" and "harms Yemen's efforts in the fight against terrorism."
On Monday, a team of US investigators arrived in Sana'a to review security measures at Yemen's two international airports. "We believe that Yemen has made significant improvements in its security and counterterrorism capability but obviously [has] a still-limited capacity," US state department spokesman PJ Crowley said in Washington.
The PETN explosive found in the two ink cartridges is the same substance as that found in the underwear of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man charged with trying to explode a Northwest Airlines jet before it landed on Christmas Day 2009 in Detroit.
US officials have said they believe Saudi bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri to be a key suspect behind the failed bomb attacks. UK officials have indicated the vital tip-off for came from former al-Qaeda member Jabr al-Faifi, who recently handed himself in to authorities in Saudi Arabia, reports the BBC.
Suspect packages containing literature but no explosives, intercepted by officials in September, are thought to have been a trial run for the plot.
Greek bomb discovery
Separately, Greek police said one of the four parcel bombs discovered in Athens on Monday was destined for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, while another addressed to the Mexican embassy in the Greek capital exploded in the offices of a private delivery company.
The other two packages were addressed to the Dutch and Belgian embassies in the city, which has seen a recent rise in attacks attributed to far-left groups and unrelated to al-Qaeda.
Two men have been arrested.