(CNN) -- The Yemen-based arm of the al Qaeda terrorist network claimed responsibility Friday for last week's plot to send explosive devices on cargo planes bound for the United States.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which had been suspected in the plot, posted its claim on various radical Islamist websites, saying, "We will continue to strike blows against American interests and the interest of America's allies".
The statement also claimed the group is responsible for the crash of a UPS cargo plane in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on September 3.
Investigators said earlier this month they had failed to turn up any evidence that terrorism was involved in that crash, which killed the two pilots aboard, according to a U.S. government official.
About 45 minutes after UPS Flight 6 departed Dubai International Airport for Cologne, Germany, the crew declared an emergency due to smoke in the cockpit. They asked to return to Dubai, but shortly before the plane could get to the airport it crashed.
Officials in the United Arab Emirates have said -- and a U.S. official confirmed -- that the plane's cockpit voice recorder has been examined and nothing on it indicates an explosion. Explosions have distinctive sound signatures, and that would have been recorded on the device, the official said.
The UAE said it has "eliminated the possibility of an onboard explosion, following a detailed onsite investigation of the wreckage".
CNN
