THE INTERNATIONAL hunt for those behind the failed attempt to ship bombs on US cargo aircraft was focused last night on a Saudi-born extremist linked to al-Qaeda in Yemen who is also accused of constructing the Christmas Day bomb.
Security officials believe the bombmaker was Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, who is considered to be one of the organisation’s most radical adherents after sending his own brother on a failed suicide mission with a bomb in his body cavity.
Meanwhile, Yemeni authorities have released Hanan al-Samawi (22), the student who had been suspected of delivering the parcels to FedEx and United Parcel Service offices.
A family member and a government official said the woman, believed to be in her 20s, had been released. “Another woman had used her name and ID,” the government official said. “Authorities are looking for that woman.”
Her father Mohammed Al-Samawi had claimed his daughter was innocent and her arrest was a “big misunderstanding” in an interview yesterday with local Sanaa media.
Her lawyer, Abdel Rahman Burman, had also proclaimed her innocence.
“Her acquaintances tell me that she is a quiet student and there was no knowledge of her having involvement in any religious or political groups,” he said. “I’m concerned the girl is a victim, because it doesn’t make sense that the person who would do this kind of operation would leave a picture of their ID and their phone number.”
Students demonstrated at Sanaa University yesterday morning following the arrest of computer science student Ms al-Samawi in connection with explosive packages found on two cargo jets bound for the US. About 100 students gathered on campus to protest her innocence.
Ms al-Samawi, whose first name Hanan means “gentle one”, is a fifth-year student at the faculty of engineering at the New Campus of the capital’s university.
Friends at the protest described her as a “moderate Islamic girl” and denied she had any connection with radical Muslims.
“A woman would not do this,” said former student Shatha Al Harazi. “She must have been tricked by a man.”
In a culture where women are presumed to be innocent females, arrests are rare and are usually for “honour crimes” such as adultery.
Meanwhile, senior counter-terrorism officials in Britain warned that the bomb discovered at East Midlands airport was “one of the most sophisticated we’ve seen” and exposed a blind spot in international aviation security.
Saudi Arabian intelligence was tipped off by an informant leading to the discovery of the devices at East Midlands airport and Dubai airport. – (Additional reporting by Guardian service)