DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Yemen-based al-Qaeda group is claiming responsibility for the international mail-bomb plot uncovered late last week as well as the crash of a United Parcel Service cargo plane in September.
A week after authorities intercepted packages in Dubai and England that were bound for the U.S., al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula issued a message Friday saying it will continue to strike American and Western interests. It specifically said it would target civilian and cargo aircraft.
U.S. officials have said all week there were strong indications the plot originated with AQAP, a terrorist group that has been gathering strength and increasingly triggering attacks on Western targets.
Authorities have said the September UPS crash was caused by an onboard fire and not by an explosive device, but investigators are taking another look at the incident.
U.S. intelligence experts will be examining the message from AQAP to try to verify its authenticity, said a U.S. intelligence official. The Associated Press
