Suspicious packages discovered in Dubai and England in air cargo shipments to the U.S. contained explosive materials and appeared headed for Jewish places of worship in Chicago, President Obama confirmed Thursday afternoon.

Obama's remarks in a brief address to reporters capped a tense daylong drama, in which federal authorities grounded UPS planes at airports in Newark, N.J., and Philadelphia to inspect packages based on fears of a terrorist threat originating from Yemen.

The Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is suspected, and U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the chemical used, PETN, was also used in the failed Christmas Day airline bombing that was tied to the same group.

President Obama, confirming that authorities had uncovered a "credible terrorist threat," spoke shortly after military jets escorted a passenger jet from the United Arab Emirates to New York's JFK airport as a precautionary measure because it was carrying a package from Yemen.

"We will continue to pursue additional protective measures for as long as it takes to ensure the safety and security of our citizens," Obama said.

A UAE official told the Associated Press late Friday that an "explosive device" in Dubai was found in a courier company's regional hub.

FedEx reported earlier that a suspicious package was found at its Dubai facility.

Another package, found on a UPS plane at East Midlands Airport in central England, contained what looked like a toner cartridge with white powder and wires coming out of it.

The Thursday night discoveries prompted U.S. authorities on Friday to sweep a UPS plane in Newark, N.J., two UPS planes in Philadelphia and two UPS trucks in New York City.

The planes in Philadelphia are still being investigated. The Newark flight and New York trucks have been cleared.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Obama was alerted Thursday night, and administration officials have been monitoring the situation.

"Based on close cooperation among U.S. government agencies and with our foreign allies and partners, authorities were able to identify and examine two suspicious packages, one in London and one in Dubai. Both of these packages originated from Yemen," Gibbs said in a written statement. "As a result of security precautions triggered by this threat, the additional measures were taken regarding the flights at Newark Liberty and Philadelphia International Airports.

Given the origin of the packages, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula "is at the top of the list" of suspects, a U.S. official told Fox News.

"Since two of the suspicious packages that were intercepted were addressed to religious institutions in Chicago, all churches, synagogues and mosques in the Chicago area should be vigilant for any unsolicited or unexpected packages, especially those originating from overseas locations," Chicago FBI spokesman Ross Rice said.

Federal law enforcement officials said the suspicious device that resembled a toner cartridge was removed from the a flight in a distribution center at East Midlands Airport in the U.K.

A crew member aboard a UPS plane arriving to Philadelphia from Paris later notified authorities on approach about a suspicious package. The crew member described a possible radiological component to the package, the incident report said. The two occupants safely exited the aircraft after landing in a remote area of the airport.

A second UPS plane was isolated near the UPS terminal at the Philadelphia airport before take off, the report said.

A third UPS plane, which arrived at Newark Liberty Airport from East Midlands in the U.K., was investigated, but UPS says it was cleared and proceeded on to Louisville, KY.

Two UPS trucks in Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y., were also investigated and cleared, officials said.

Law enforcement officials also are investigating a suspicious packages in Portland, Maine. No word on whether that package has any links to UPS or Yemen.

"As an additional safety measure, FedEx embargoed all shipments originating from Yemen," Maury Lane, spokesman for FedEx told Reuters.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/29/authorities-investigating-possible-bomb-threat-philadelphia-international/?test=latestnews

C'mon Mr. President, how many more of these failed attacks is it going to take before you get the guts to handle business in Yemen? We know where AQAP leadership is and the tribes supporting and protecting them. The countless attempted attacks and actual attacks that have gone through like the Cole should be sufficient enough to go in to Yemen and pound these terrorist jerk-offs.

"C'mon Mr. President, how many more of these failed attacks is it going to take before you get the guts to handle business in Yemen? We know where AQAP leadership is and the tribes supporting and protecting them. The countless attempted attacks and actual attacks that have gone through like the Cole should be sufficient enough to go in to Yemen and pound these terrorist jerk-offs. "

Wow!

Glad this person isn't running for president.

There is a whole world of OTHER Countries out there. Soverign nations that have their own problems and the right to deal with those problems.

What would you do... Start a third war to nail a proven bunch of idiots (how many times now have they been stopped in their tracks).

Let Yemen handle it first. (that could take years - look how long we been in Afganistan).

As far as doing nothing...

Would you really expect the President to TELL you what we are doing and thereby let the terrorists know how to get arround it?

Yemen isn't doing crap and everyone they capture mysteriously escapes from prison.

They have repeatedly asked the US for help. This is the same mistake Bill Clinton made that allowed AQ to grow massivly. AQAP will do the same and has done the same.

BTW it wouldn't take a large force over there at all. It's narrowed down to one region with a couple tribes protecting them.

The working term here appears to be "political correctness".

Screw PC. Handle business.

Exactly. PC is the problem, not the solution.

You know it has always been the United States policy not to negotiate with terrorists, that was until January 20th, 2009.

i think bush was the one that started paying them off...500 billion dollar a year war budget?

The only way to war with terror is to war with all nations.

All nations have terrorists including us.

Foiled terrorist attacks are a good sign.

Complacency is what allowed 9/11.

We go after ALL our domestic terrorists head on. Why do you think we took down weathermen underground or have a ton of criminal prosecutions against members of ALF and ELF? Or how about the needle that wen't into McVeigh's arm?

We are at war with terror on many fronts and many agencies other then the military are dealing with it too. We need to fight it on ALL fronts where ever it is. If it's in places like Yemeni or Pakistani tribal regions we can't exactly send the FBI, NCIS, DSS or any other federal law enforcement agency in after them thats where the military comes in.

i have mixed feelings on that... i mean it is good that they foiled them, but the last few i have seen have been fbi set ups, like the guy in dallas that tried to blow up a building, and the guys in new york... they were talked into it by the fbi, then the fbi starts patting themselves on the back. If they did some real work, it would mean more.

Another FEAR thread! That's the GOP/T-bagger's campaign playform.

Really?..lol.

That would be a big no. He brought the big hurt to a lot of terrorists and it is because of him that the families of the victims of 9/11 will have some justice in the near future when they fry these jerks in G-bay.

He also dealt them a big blow the day Saddam was hung by a post.

i can't figure out where 2 trillion dollars went in 4 years of the war... all of the other wars added together didn't cost us that much

The wars didn't cost two trillion, hell Obama has spent more in the first hundred days in office then President Bush did in eight years(including two wars).

and what do you expect "Obama" to do..? he was voted as president, not superman... Bush Jr had all the intelligence, all the resources, all the military power at his finger tips and yet he didnt do a damn thing to stop the terrorist attacks on US soil...

you really have some warped expectations of what ONE person can do...

Because there are terrorists in a country, doesn't make that country our enemy, nor take away that countries sovereignty. Because if it did, we should have our ***** kicked too.

It makes us illegal tyrants to go around invading countries because we don't like a terrorist in their midst.

my math ain't the greatest, but 500 billion a year fer 4 years is 2 trillion? sounds right

read this article

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Little-known-fact-Obamas-failed-stimulus-program-cost-more-than-the-Iraq-war-101302919.html
it sounds right...

It makes us a formidable enemy to strike them at home after they have tried to do the same to us.

wise words