US intelligence officials were examining a bomb discovered during an operation to disrupt an alleged al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula plot to attack a US-bound airliner, the top White House counterterrorism official said Tuesday, DPA reported.
"The device is in our custody," John Brennan told ABC News in an interview. "The FBI is exploiting it. We're trying to understand the different aspects of the design to make sure that we're able to take preventive actions in the future to prevent this or other types of devices from getting into areas that could threaten the American public."
Brennan said the device was similar to one used by the terror cell in a failed plot to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day 2009. That attempt failed when passengers subdued the would-be bomber, who tried to ignite explosives concealed in his underwear.
"AQAP has been clearly determined to continue to pursue these attempted attacks. And we are going to do everything in our power to stop them long before they get to an aircraft," Brennan said in a separate interview with broadcaster CBS.
He refused to address the status of the would-be bomber in the plot that was announced Monday.
ABC News reported that an inside source working for US intelligence was able to infiltrate the al-Qaeda cell and smuggle out the bomb, which had no metallic elements and would have been difficult to detect by airport security devices. The plot seemed timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the US killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
However, it had not advanced sufficiently to be a threat and no specific flight had been targeted. Nor had tickets been purchased.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stressed on a visit to India that the bomb plot did not appear to pose a threat to the public.
"But the plot indicates that these terrorists keep trying to devise more and more perverse and terrible ways to kill innocent people. It's a reminder as to why we should remain vigilant at home and abroad to protect our nation and friendly countries."