4:58 PM
DFitz
Obama: Packages headed to Chicago had explosive materials
Two suspicious packages bound for Chicago "places of Jewish worship" contained explosive materials, President Barack Obama said at a news conference this afternoon.
He called the incidents a "credible terrorist threat against our country."
One package was intercepted in England on a flight from Yemen. It was described as a "manipulated" toner cartridge with wires and circuitry attached, officials said. The other was intercepted in Dubai.
Both packages were sent from Yemen. Officials wouldn't identify where they were headed, except to say neither was addressed to the synagogue across the street from Obama's home in Kenwood. The White House said the president planned to attend a rally as planned in Chicago Saturday.
"Our counter-terrorism professionals are on the job and the president's not going to change his schedule and there's no cause for Americans to change their schedule," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who promised updates to the public over the weekend.
U.S. officials said they were increasingly confident that the packages were part of a plot by Yemen's al-Qaida branch, the same group responsible for an attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner last Christmas.
The Associated Press quoted U.S. officials as saying the packages contained the same explosive as the attempted Christmas attack.
Intelligence officials have been monitoring the suspected plot for days, an official said. The packages were discovered in England and Dubai late Thursday after a foreign intelligence service picked up information related to Yemen and passed it on to the U.S., one official said.
John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, told reporters the packages seized in Dubai and England were both addressed to synagogues in Chicago.
Synagogues, as well as other religious institutions in Chicago were told to be on alert.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Chicago said it advised synagogues to be on alert after receiving a warning this morning from "authorities."
"We were told that synagogues should be on the alert," the spokeswoman said, adding that the federation was "taking appropriate precautions" and was "advising our local synagogues to do likewise."
She declined to comment on the nature of the threat or what precautions were necessary.
Chicago police said they were making checks in areas with many synagogues, such as the West Rogers Park neighborhood.
Rabbi Michael Balinsky, executive vice president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, said he expected Friday or Saturday Sabbath services would go on as usual despite the warning.
"The community will be very careful. Beyond that, people will be on alert as far as any suspicious packages," he said. "People know about it. Services will go on as normal, with normal security measures."
Rabbi Michael Siegel, whose Anshe Emet synagogue in Lakeview has a membership of 1,200 households and a day school of more than 500 children, said the congregation will not be accepting UPS packages until "we know the danger has passed."
Since the 9/11 attacks, Siegel said the synagogue has improved security, including arranging for off-duty police officers to monitor the entrance of the building. He said he doesn't want the latest incident to disrupt the congregation's normal practices.
"The last thing we want to do is give in to terrorism on any level," Siegel said.
Rabbi Doug Zelden of the Or Menorah congregation in West Rogers Park said the threat will likely be a topic among its members during Sabbath services tonight and Saturday.
Zelden's congregation is one of three housed within Temple Menorah, which had two of its windows smashed and the canvas panels of a sukkah -- a temporary hut used for prayers and celebration of Sukkot -- in September.
He urged his members to be "comfortably cautious," adding, "Watch for suspicious things always."
Rabbi Asher Lopatin from the congregation Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel in Lakeview said his synagogue hadn't received specific threats. Although he reminded people to be vigilant, he doesn't want these threats to "take away from the religious experience."
"This will only add to our commitment to our Jewish values and our American values," said Lopatin, whose congregation has a membership of 350 households. "Every time they try to scare us it just makes us better people, stronger."
The package that first sparked alarm had white powder all over it as well as wires and a circuit card attached, a law enforcement source said. It came from Sana, Yemen and was bound for Chicago, a source told CNN.
It was discovered during a basic security screening process in the United Kingdom, a U.S. government official told the Associated Press.
Officials discovered a toner cartridge that had been "manipulated" and found wires attached to it and white powder. The second package was found in Dubai, according to an official United Arab Emirates security source.
Obama was notified of the potential threat at 10:30 p.m. Thursday and "directed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security, to take steps to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and to determine whether these threats are a part of any additional terrorist plotting," a White House statement said.
Concerns about the possibility of similar and potentially dangerous devices shipped elsewhere prompted officials to check other cargo planes headed to the U.S.In a statement, TSA said it was aware of and monitoring reports of potentially suspicious items onboard cargo flights that landed safely at Newark Liberty and Philadelphia International airports. "Out of an abundance of caution the planes were moved to a remote location where they are being met by law enforcement officials and swept," the statement said.
The Philadelphia jet belongs to United Parcel Service. A source with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak said officials New York were examining a UPS package.
In New York City, police responded to reports of a possible explosive in a UPS truck at the Queensboro Bridge, top NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. Browne said the package was removed and was being examined in Brooklyn.
Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc. said it was working closely with authorities.
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