The Underwear Bomb Plot And al-Qaeda’s ‘Genius’ Bombmaker
Alleged bomb-maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri (Photo: Government of Saudi Arabia)
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.
Our coverage reaches millions each week, but only a small fraction of listeners contribute to sustain our program. We still need 224 more people to donate $100 or $10/monthly to unlock our $67,000 match. Will you help us get there today?