Qaeda posts 'bomb recipe' to target passenger jets

London, Jan 11: Al Qaeda has provided its followers with a new "bomb recipe" with which an explosive device can be made using household goods avoiding metal components intended to evade airport security and blow up a passenger jet.

The terror group's branch in Yemen, which directed Wednesday's attack against the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, has also told operatives that Britain is a higher priority target than France.

Outlining the bomb "recipe" in the latest issue of its online magazine 'Inspire', al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) states: "We have spared no effort in simplifying the idea.

"The instructions for the "hidden bomb" are outlined in the latest issue of Inspire, which was published on Christmas Eve and features a civilian airliner on its cover. The device, that can purportedly be made from household goods and avoids using metal components, is intended to evade airport security and blow up a passenger jet, The Sunday Times reported.

After explaining how to make the device from "simple materials that are readily available around the globe," the magazine advises where to detonate the bomb on a plane to cause maximum damage.

Cherif and Said Kouachi, the Charlie Hebdo magazine killers, are thought to have travelled to Yemen to be trained by AQAP, the report said. Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2011, founded AQAP's online magazine, Inspire.

It has featured in seven out of 10 terror plots against British targets since 2010, according to Britain's internal spy agency MI5.

Published in English every quarter, the magazine can be accessed by tens of thousands of supporters through online jihadist forums.

Previous issues of the magazine have included instructions on building a "pressure cooker bomb", similar to the devices used by the Boston marathon bombers in 2013. Their attack killed three people and injured more than 260.

PTI