Fears that al-Qaeda is planning a wave of suicide attacks with syringe bombs have been heightened after it emerged that a Somali man tried to board an aircraft last month carrying the same type of device as that used by the Detroit bomber.

Police in Somalia said the terrorist was caught “red handed” in Mogadishu trying to take powdered chemicals, liquid and a syringe onto a commercial airliner bound for Dubai. The suspect had 1kg of chemical powder – more than 12 times as much as the Detroit bomber – though the exact composition of the chemicals is not yet known.  Read more... (561 words, 1 image, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

Still small in numbers, but it reaches Saudi Arabia, Somalia and now U.S.

SANA, Yemen – Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has rapidly evolved into an expanding and ambitious regional terrorist network thanks in part to a weakened, impoverished and distracted Yemeni government.

While Yemen has chased two homegrown rebellions, over the last year the Qaeda cell here has begun sharing resources across borders and has been spurred on to more ambitious attacks by a leadership strengthened by released Qaeda detainees and returning fighters from Iraq.  Read more... (1825 words, 1 image, estimated 7:18 mins reading time)

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) — Yemen’s foreign minister says his government has not sufficiently focused on al Qaeda because it has turned its attention to insurgencies rocking the northern and southern regions there.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview Wednesday that “our fault was that we spared al Qaeda” because of other conflicts — fighting Houthi rebels in the north and secessionists in the south.

He spoke to Amanpour from Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

Al-Qirbi also said Yemen isn’t accepting direct U.S. intervention, despite reports that the United States made military strikes against Yemeni targets late last year, and he said his country’s forces can conduct military action against al Qaeda.  Read more... (986 words, 1 image, estimated 3:57 mins reading time)

Editor’s note: Fareed Zakaria is an author and foreign affairs analyst who hosts “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN U.S. on Sundays at 1 and 5 p.m. ET and CNN International 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. CET / 5 p.m. Abu Dhabi / 9 p.m. HK

New York (CNN) — In the wake of the failed Christmas Day airplane bombing, President Obama ordered speedy reviews of how the air security system failed and the Transportation Security Administration began enhanced screening for passengers traveling through 14 nations.  Read more... (1324 words, 1 image, estimated 5:18 mins reading time)

HONOLULU — President Barack Obama laid blame Saturday on an al-Qaida affiliate for a Christmas Day terrorist attack that has prompted a top-to-bottom review of how the nation’s intelligence agencies failed to prevent the botched bombing aboard a Detroit-bound airliner.

In his most direct public language to date, the president described the path through Yemen of 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of trying to destroy Northwest Flight 253. The president also emphasized that the United States would continue its partnerships with friendly countries – citing Yemen, in particular – to fight terrorists and extremist groups around the globe.  Read more... (583 words, 1 image, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

A dangerous explosive allegedly concealed by Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in his underwear could have blown a hole in the side of his Detroit-bound aircraft if it had been detonated, according to two federal sources briefed on the investigation. Authorities said they are still analyzing a badly damaged syringe that Abdulmutallab allegedly employed as a detonating device on Christmas Day. But preliminary conclusions indicate that he allegedly used 80 grams of PETN — almost twice as much of the highly explosive material as used by convicted shoe bomber Richard C. Reid.  Read more... (1319 words, 1 image, estimated 5:17 mins reading time)

A mystery man helped syringe bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab board Flight 253 – telling check-in staff the fanatic was a Sudanese refugee who did not have a passport.

Passengers Kurt and Lori Haskell saw a tall, expensively-dressed Asian man of about 50 with Abdulmutallab on Christmas Day at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

The Haskells were waiting to board Flight 253 as the accomplice stood alongside a silent, ragged-looking Abdulmutallab and argued with a ticket clerk.

Lori said: “The man said ‘He needs to get on this plane but he doesn’t have a passport.’ The ticket-taker said ‘You can’t board without a passport.’  Read more... (770 words, 1 image, estimated 3:05 mins reading time)

The Cheery in-flight magazine of Yemenia, the national airline of Yemen, still runs articles encouraging adventurous tourists to visit the coffee-growing region in the country’s north, its terraced hilltop villages a vision of Old Arabia, and the fabled eastern valleys that were once home to the Queen of Sheba. But anyone trying to get off the beaten track in Yemen these days may find a bit too much adventure. About two-thirds of the country is out of government control and in the hands of either separatist groups or local tribes, some of which have a habit of kidnapping foreign tourists to use as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government. Such hostages were rarely harmed until this June, when nine foreigners were kidnapped — including two German women and a South Korean woman whose mutilated bodies were later discovered by shepherds. After the attack, the government effectively stopped granting permission to foreigners — including journalists — to travel anywhere but the capital, Sana’a, and the coastal region around the port city of Aden.  Read more... (1269 words, 1 image, estimated 5:05 mins reading time)