The Underwear Bomb Plot And al-Qaeda’s ‘Genius’ Bombmaker

The World

The FBI’s bomb lab at Quantico, Virginia, is examining the latest device seized from al-Qaeda.

It’s a new bomb designed to be concealed in a man’s underwear. It is small and has no metal parts, so would have been difficult to detect by airport security.

Luckily, the suicide bomber selected for the mission was a Saudi secret agent who delivered it to the CIA.

The bomb in this case is allegedly the handiwork of a 30-year old Saudi man, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri.

He’s known to be ruthless, having once used his own brother in a suicide attack.

Bruce Riedel grudgingly calls him a genius.

Reidel served 30 years with the CIA, and is now a senior foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution.

“I can’t think of a target more important than Asiri,” he tells anchor Marco Werman.

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!