UK terror probe reveals PETN explosives found on US-bound jet

LONDON - A huge transatlantic terror investigation is under way after a suspected mail bomb plot was smashed when a device was found on a jet at a British airport.

Investigators believe the explosives were PETN (Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate), the same used in the failed Al Qaeda bombing attempt last Christmas, the Daily Express reports.

On that occasion, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, who received terror training in Yemen, hid explosives in his underwear on a flight from Schipol Airport in Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, but failed to detonate them properly.

Planes were grounded in the United States after the makeshift bomb containing explosive material was found on a cargo plane at East Midlands airport in Leicestershire early yesterday.

Parts of the airport were sealed off as fears were raised over an Al Qaeda plot. A second package headed to the same address in Chicago was later intercepted in Dubai.he packages were destined for synagogues in Chicago and were due to arrive at the start of the Jewish Sabbath at sundown.

In Britain, the Home Office suspended all direct flights from Yemen to the UK.

Counter terrorism detectives from Scotland Yard are liaising with colleagues in the US. (ANI)