Russia Allegedly Plotted to Put Bomb Aboard US-Bound Jet

The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia has been plotting to send explosives aboard planes—possibly passenger planes—bound for the US and Canada. The Kremlin denies the allegations. The startling report stems from an investigation into two separate explosions at overseas warehouses for the global transportation company DHL.

• In July, one such device exploded at a DHL facility in Birmingham, England, and another exploded in Leipzig, Germany, per the Guardian. Had either detonated while aboard a plane, it could have brought down the aircraft. The Journal reports that the devices were rigged electronic massagers.

• Late last month, authorities in Poland arrested four people in connection with the explosions, per the CBC. "The group's goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada," according to a statement from Poland's National Prosecutor's Office.
• The office didn't say who allegedly orchestrated the plot, but the chief of Poland's foreign-intelligence agency tells the Journal that it was Russia, as part of an escalating sabotage campaign against the West. "I'm not sure the political leaders of Russia are aware of the consequences if one of these packages exploded, causing a mass casualty event," says the chief, Pawel Szota.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calls the allegations "unsubstantiated insinuations from the media" and says no government has made an accusation.

(More Russia stories.)