Yemeni security officials said the tip-off about the cargo plane bomb plot came from a leading al-Qaeda militant who turned himself in to Saudi authorities last month.
Jabir al-Fayfi told officials about the plan by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group’s affiliate in Yemen.
Qatar Airlines confirmed yesterday the parcel bomb discovered in Dubai was transported on two separate passenger jets before being found by security staff.
The two bombs at the centre of the cargo plane terror plot contained 300 grams and 400 grams of explosive PETN, German officials said today.
They contained 300 and 400 grams of PETN and "the explosive effect would have been significant" if they had gone off.
Both devices, including an ink cartridge bomb found at East Midlands Airport on Friday, originated in Yemen.
British prime minister David Cameron chaired a meeting of his government’s emergency planning committee amid calls for a full review of the security measures for cargo.
He thanked the authorities involved in foiling the plot, saying they "clearly prevented the terrorists from killing and maiming many innocent people".
"Clearly the whole country has been focused on the terrorist threat. I want to put on record my thanks for all those involved in the international police and intelligence operation, whose efforts clearly prevented the terrorists from killing and maiming many innocent people whether here or elsewhere in the world," he said.
"While we are rightly engaged in Afghanistan to deny the terrorists there, the threat from the Arabian Peninsula, and from Yemen in particular, has grown. It's clear that we must take every possible step to work with our partners in the Arab world to cut out the terrorist cancer that lurks in the Arabian Peninsula," he added.
British home secretary Theresa May said today that Britain is to ban unaccompanied air freight from both Yemen and Somalia. It will also stop people bringing printer cartridges larger than 500 grams in hand luggage, and the shipping of cartridges by air from unapproved sources.
"We will review all aspects of our freight security and work with international partners to make sure our defences are as robust as possible," she said.
Meanwhile, the FBI and Homeland Security Department in the US warned local officials across the country that packages from abroad with no return address and excessive postage required a second look.
Agencies