CIA thwarts al Qaeda airline bomb plot on bin Laden anniversary

The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen to destroy a US-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jet over Detroit on Dec 25, 2009.

This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger’s underwear, but this time al Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, US officials said.