【英语科技】也门炸弹邮包曾搭载客用飞机

Yemen on Sunday released its only suspect in the failed plot to send two explosive-laden packages from Yemen to the U.S., as it emerged that the devices could have gone off aboard passenger planes─underlining the difficulties in finding the plotters and in plugging gaps in air security.

The surprise release came after at least one senior Yemeni official had questioned the arrest and amid accusations, which Yemen denied, that the young female suspect had been tortured.

The discovery in England and Dubai of the two explosive-laden packages, sent by air from Yemen, set off a global terror scare on Friday, and American and British investigators were on their way to San'a late Sunday to help investigate the failed plot. Officials in the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates have said the devices bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda, raising fresh worry about the growing sophistication and ambition of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, the Yemeni affiliate of the global terror outfit.

Over the weekend, details of the journey of the two packages emerged, underscoring lingering vulnerabilities in civilian air travel and transport almost a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Qatar Airways said one of the packages traveled without detection on two separate passenger jets, from San'a to Doha and then to Dubai. German authorities attempted to stop the trans-shipment of a second suspected bomb late Thursday or early Friday, but discovered the material already had been forwarded from Cologne Airport to East Midlands Airport in the U.K., a spokesman for the German interior ministry said.

Amid concerns that more such packages may be en route, the U.S. Postal Service and the European Union said they have temporarily suspended acceptance of inbound international mail from Yemen. Yemeni officials said Sunday they are considering screening all parcels leaving Yemeni territory.

President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, told CNN on Sunday that the packages were 'destined for a particular location in the United States and Chicago, but it appears as though they had the capability to be detonated on board that aircraft,' and could have brought the planes down.

也门周日释放了炸弹邮包未遂案中的唯一一名嫌犯，此前曾有两个装满爆炸物的包裹欲从也门寄到美国，同时也渐渐有迹象表明这些爆炸物原本是能在客机上引爆的。这显示出寻找幕后策划者以及堵住航空安全漏洞所面临的难度。

在这一出人意料的放人之举前，至少有一名也门高级官员对逮捕行为表示过质疑，并且有指责说这名年轻的女嫌犯受到了虐待，也门对此予以否认。

上周五在英格兰和迪拜发现了两件由也门空运而来的装有爆炸物的包裹，这在全球引发了恐怖主义恐慌，美国和英国的调查人员已于周日晚间赶往也门萨那，协助调查此次未遂事件。美国和阿联酋的官员说，这些爆炸物带有基地组织的特点，从而令人对于基地组织也门分支──阿拉伯半岛基地组织(AQAP)的愈加成熟和不断膨胀的野心有了新的担忧。

周末期间，有关这两件包裹运行路线的细节浮出了水面，也突出表明了在2001年911恐怖袭击发生的近十年后，民用航空和运输的安全性依然脆弱。

Reuters两名妇女走过贴有也门总统Ali Abdullah Saleh（右）与其长子画像的汽车。卡塔尔航空公司(Qatar Airways)说，其中一个包裹搭乘了两架不同的客机，都没有被发现，先是由萨那飞往多哈，然后又飞到迪拜。德国内政部的一名发言人说，德国有关负责部门曾在上周四晚间或是上周五早些时候试图阻止第二件可疑炸弹包裹进行转运，可发现货物已经由科隆机场(Cologne Airport)发往了英国的东密德兰机场(East Midlands Airport)。

由于担心可能有更多此类包裹已经在途中，美国邮政总局(U.S. Postal Service)和欧盟(European Union)说它们已暂时停止接收来自也门的入境国际邮件。也门官员周日说，他们正考虑对所有也门发出的包裹进行审查。

美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)的首席反恐顾问布瑞南(John Brennan)周日对CNN说，这些包裹是发往美国和芝加哥境内一个具体地点的，但看起来似乎它们是能够在那架飞机上被引爆的，它们可能会让飞机掉下来。