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WASHINGTON – Federal investigators are conducting a probe into who leakedinformation about an Al Qaeda plot in which an explosive device wasto have been detonated on a U.S.-bound airline flight, a lawenforcement official said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity about the leakinvestigation, which is just getting under way. The federal investigation is the latest move in an aggressivecampaign by the Obama administration to crack down on leaks, evenas it has supported proposed legislation that would shieldreporters from having to identify their sources. The probe wouldrepresent at least the seventh criminal leak case opened under theObama administration, more than were opened under any previouspresidency. The investigation follows stories by The Associated Press and othernews organizations disclosing the terrorist operation by the groupknown as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The reports said that Al Qaeda had completed a sophisticated new,nonmetallic underwear bomb last month and that the would-be suicidebomber actually was a double agent working with the CIA and Saudiintelligence agencies. The would-be suicide bomber secretly turned over the group's mostup-to-date underwear bomb to Saudi Arabia, which gave it to theCIA. Before he was whisked to safety, the spy provided intelligencethat helped the CIA kill Al Qaeda's senior operations leader, Fahdal-Quso, who died in a drone strike last weekend. In an appearance Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee,FBI Director Robert Mueller said the FBI is examining the explosivedevice. He said the scheme hatched in Yemen demonstrates that it'sessential for Congress to reauthorize counterterrorism toolsenacted in 2008. Some of these programs expire at year's end. A spokesman for the AP, Paul Colford, said in a statement that thenews organization "acted carefully and with extreme deliberation inits reporting on the underwear bomb plot and its subsequentdecision to publish." "As the AP has reported, we distributed our exclusive report on theunderwear bomb only after officials assured us -- on Monday -- thattheir security concerns had been satisfied and we learned that theWhite House would announce the news the next day," Colford said. I am an expert from tinplatesheet.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Prepainted Steel Coil , China Tin Free Steel, Galvanised Steel Sheet,and more.
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