U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday that two suspicious packages, intercepted earlier in Britain and in Dubai on route from Yemen to the United States, presented a "credible terrorist threat" against the country.
One of the packages had been found on a United Parcel Service cargo plane at East Midlands Airport north of London, while the other had been discovered at a FedEx facility in Dubai.
"Initial examination of those packages has determined that they do apparently contain explosive material," Obama said in a televised briefing. "They present a credible terrorist threat to our country."
The U.S. president said both parcels originated in Yemen and were sent to Jewish synagogues in Chicago area.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it had stepped up aviation security measures as a result of the threat.
The U.S. officials suspect al-Qaeda cell in Yemen could be responsible for the planned attack on the American soil.
WASHINGTON, October 30 (RIA Novosti)
