The explosive device that was discovered aboard a cargo plane in Britain was set to explode in the air above the eastern seaboard of the United States according to Scotland Yard.
Officials said the bomb would have exploded six hours after when it was found aboard the plane. This timeline places it in the air above the east coast of the U.S.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has publicly taken responsibility for the foiled attempt.
White House spokesman Nick Shapiro stressed that these findings only underscore the seriousness of the attempted attacks by the AQAP. He noted a collaborative effort among many nations, intelligence forces and law enforcement for stopping the bomb before it reached its goal.
The devices discovered were full of the explosive PETN and placed into computer printer toner cartridge. They were set to be detonated by a cell phone.
Officials believe that Ibrahim Hasan asl-Asiri, al Qaeda bombmaker, is behind the packages. He is also believed to be behind the failed attempt to blow up a U.S. plane as it landed in Detroit on Christmas Day.
