Bomb timed to blow up jet over American coast

THE bomb found on the cargo plane at East Midlands Airport last month was timed to detonate over the eastern seaboard of the United States, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

The device, found on a UPS aircraft by Leicestershire police officers shortly after 3.30am on October 29, was timed to go off seven hours later.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "If the device had not been removed from the aircraft the activation could have occurred over the eastern seaboard of the US."

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The bomb, disguised as a printer cartridge, was found following a tip-off from Saudi intelligence. It, and another found in Dubai, contained at least 300g of the powerful explosive PETN.

The police spokesman added the bomb was "disrupted" when the cartridge was removed.

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