FBI: al-Qaida's Yemen group not behind Dubai crash

Al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen was not behind the Sept. 3 crash of a UPS cargo plane in Dubai and falsely took responsibility for the incident, according to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's claim of involvement in the October mail bomb plot aimed at U.S.-bound planes was "credible," but the group took false credit for the earlier crash to bolster its image, according to an internal bulletin from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the bulletin. "We assess that AQAP's assertion of responsibility for the 3 September 2010 crash of a UPS cargo plane in Dubai is false," the bulletin said in a message to other law enforcement agencies. "Other terrorist organizations have falsely claimed credit for events with a high media profile to bolster their image and external perceptions of their operational capabilities." The Yemen-based terror faction had claimed responsibility last week for both the cargo plane crash and the recent mail bomb plot that was foiled when authorities found bombs wired inside computer printers seized in Dubai and Britain.