The alleged Al-Qaeda plot of parcel bombs on two United States-bound flights was foiled when intelligence agencies decoded the terrorists' chilling message: "A wedding gift is being delivered."
The code was cracked hours before the two packages containing explosive liquid explosive PETN were intercepted in the United Kingdom and Dubai.
The packages, which were being shipped by air from Yemen to synagogues in Chicago, were discovered on last Friday at East Midlands Airport in Nottingham, and at a courier facility in Dubai.
According to the Daily Star, the evil "Romeo and Juliet" plot is believed to have been masterminded by Yemen-based American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Saudi Ibrahim Hassal al-Asiri is thought to have made the bombs.
Al-Asiri is also believed to have made the device involved in the failed Christmas Day bomb plot over Detroit last year.
The package found in the UK was on board a UPS cargo aircraft, while the other, in Dubai, was found in a FedEx sorting facility.
British Prime Minister David Cameron had earlier said that the bomb was designed to "explode mid-air".
"We believe the device was designed to go off on the aeroplane. There is no early evidence it was designed to take place over British soil, but we can't rule that out," Cameron had said.
{{/usCountry}}"We believe the device was designed to go off on the aeroplane. There is no early evidence it was designed to take place over British soil, but we can't rule that out," Cameron had said.
{{/usCountry}}Authorities in Yemen are currently investigating another 24 suspect parcels.
Meanwhile, security has increased in the US, where the postal service has temporarily stopped accepting inbound mail originating in Yemen.