Bomb Found in Luggage on Saudi Jumbo Jet

Police on Friday found a time bomb in luggage taken from a Saudi Airlines jumbo jet with 248 people aboard. Only a loose wire stopped it from exploding over the Arabian Sea, officials said.

“We have recovered a bomb in a bag which was not tagged,” said an officer of the paramilitary Karachi Airport Security Force, who identified himself only as Ashraf.

A security force commander said the bomb would have destroyed the terminal of Karachi’s airport in addition to the plane had it gone off after the jet landed here.

Only a loose battery wire prevented it from blowing up Thursday evening as the plane was heading from Islamabad, Pakistan, to the Saudi city of Riyadh, officials said.

A taxi driver in Islamabad had delivered an envelope containing a note threatening to destroy the plane unless authorities paid $1.5 million, they said. The aircraft then was ordered to land at Karachi, where security officials found the bomb.

Officials said they questioned all passengers and crew members but had not made any arrests. They refused to say if they had any suspects or whether any group had claimed responsibility.