© Reuters/Saudi Interior Ministry/Handout Suspect: US officials say the device bears the hallmarks of fugitive Saudi militant Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri
In a report which it sheeted home to "counterterrorism sources", CNN reported the man was sent by Saudi counterterrorism agents into Yemen as a mole after it was discovered that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was developing an updated model of the underwear bomb that failed to explode in a Christmas Day 2009 attempt.
The man reportedly grew up in Europe and joined militant sympathisers who tried to recruit him for terror attacks.
It said that the Saudi man's British passport enhanced his value to the terror group, because he could travel without a visa to the US.
But when he learned that a concrete terror plot was in the works, the man contacted Saudi counterterrorism officials from Yemen.
The Saudis then informed the Americans of the planned operation and let them know that they had succeeded in infiltrating the group, according to CNN.
The spy spent weeks with the Al Qaeda affiliate, gathering sensitive information that was passed on to the Americans.
Conflicting Reuters reports suggest the informant was working in cooperation with Britain's two principal spy agencies.
The Obama administration had been under heavy pressure not to disclose the role of British authorities in the investigation.
A source working closely with US intelligence agencies and the US military also told CNN the Al Qaeda chapter in Yemen now has "a whole outfit designated to target the US homeland".
The new details about the Saudi mole and the failed bomb plot came after US spy chief James Clapper earlier this week ordered an inquiry into leaks to media about the top secret operation.
Several US officials said the operation was severely disrupted when leaks of some of the details began to surface and they believed the operation could have continued at least another week or two if the leaks to the media had not occurred.
The foiled plot ended with the explosive device being delivered to the FBI, which is examining it at its lab at Quantico, Virginia.
The internal review is being conducted across 16 intelligence agencies.
US officials said the plot was foiled by the CIA and allied foreign intelligence services, without identifying the allies.
A spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office declined to comment, saying it never confirmed or denied the involvement of British intelligence.
US officials say the device bears the hallmarks of fugitive Saudi militant Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, suspected of being a bomb-maker working with AQAP.
"He is very dangerous, he is smart, he is vicious," senior Democrat on the House intelligence committee CA "Dutch" Ruppersberger said.
"He's the type of person that would put his own brother's life at risk for the cause."
Mr Ruppersberger would not comment on British involvement in the investigation.
Source: Agence France-Presse
I believe ==> every word <== of this and I'm so-o-o-o glad the Brits were on it . . .
My skeptical brother however, says, "Nice FAIL on the save . . . idiots."
Maybe he's right . . .