One Was Allegedly Carrying Mock Bombs In A Suitcase

Two men who flew aboard a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Amsterdam were arrested when they arrived in the Netherlands and charged with "Preparation of a Terrorist Attack." One of the two was allegedly carrying what were described as "mock bombs" in his luggage while in the U.S.

"This was almost certainly a dry run, a test," one senior law enforcement authority told ABC News.

The Dutch public prosecutor said the arrests were made at "the request of American authorities." The pair had been allowed to board the flight at O'Hare despite security concerns about one of the men.

One of the suspects, Detroit resident Ahmen Mohamed Nasser al Soofi, had first traveled from Birmingham, AL to Chicago. He had been stopped for additional screening in Birmingham due to what officials described as "bulky clothing," and was found to be carrying $7,000 cash. When his luggage was inspected, it was found to contain a cell phone taped to a plastic bottle, three cell phones taped together, a box cutter and three large knives. There were also three wrist watches taped together. Not finding actual explosives, TSA cleared the luggage to fly from Birmingham to Chicago (we assume in the hold of the airplane, ed).

At Chicago, al Soofi reportedly checked the luggage on a flight to Dubai and on to Yemen, where he was reportedly from originally, with a stop at Washington's Dulles airport. But he got on a plane to Amsterdam with the second man, Hezem al Murisi. When it was discovered that al Soofi was not traveling with his luggage, the plane from Dulles to Dubai (yes, it got from Chicago to Washington) was returned to its gate and the suitcase was confiscated. It was then that Dutch officials were alerted, and the two were detained when they arrived in Amsterdam.

FMI: www.tsa.gov