CIA thwarts Al Qaeda underwear bomb plot near anniversary of bin Laden's death The CIA has unraveled a terror plot by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using an underwear bomb around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Usama bin Laden. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time Al Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials told the Associated Press. "Initial exploitation indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations," the FBI said in a written statement. The FBI currently has possession of the IED and is conducting technical and forensics analysis on it. Part of the examination includes seeing if the bomb could have gone undetected through airport security, and if it had the power to take down an airplane, officials said. They added that the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. A U.S. official told Fox News that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, remains "committed to striking targets in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the Homeland, and Europe. And AQAP is probably feeling pressure to conduct a successful attack to, from their perspective, avenge the deaths of bin Laden and Awlaki. A team of U.S Navy SEALs killed bin Laden during a raid last May on his compound in Pakistan. Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric hiding in Yemen, was killed by a U.S. drone strike in September. Al-Awlaki was closely tied to AQAP and was the inspiration for multiple attacks on American targets, including the failed Christmas Day underwear bomb attack in 2009. "It is our assessment that the threat from AQAP is growing due to the territorial gains the group made during the political standoff in Yemen that lasted from early 2011 until this past February," the U.S. official told Fox News. Those territorial gains have allowed the group to establish additional training camps. In a press conference at the Pentagon with China's Minister of National Defense, Gen. Liang Guanglie, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the US has to "continue to remain vigilant against those who would seek to attack this country and we will do everything necessary to keep America safe." The operation to thwart the latest bomb plot unfolded even as the White House and Department of Homeland Security assured the American public that they knew of no Al Qaeda plots against the U.S. around the anniversary of bin Laden's death. "We have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on April 26. But Obama was being briefed on the plot in April by counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, Deputy NSC Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said. "While the president was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public, he directed the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take whatever steps necessary to guard against this type of attack," she said. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman, told Fox News she was informed of the plot a half hour before it went public. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King, R-N.Y., said lawmakers are only aware of certain threat streams, but he did not know about this one. Some things are very closely held. I understand why," he told Fox News. You're not going to hear me complain about it. The AP said it learned about the thwarted plot last week but agreed to White House and CIA requests not to publish it immediately because the sensitive intelligence operation was still under way. Once officials said those concerns were allayed, the AP decided to disclose the plot Monday despite requests from the Obama administration to wait for an official announcement Tuesday. U.S. officials, who were briefed on the operation, insisted on anonymity to discuss the case, which the U.S. hadn't officially acknowledged until now. A government source also told Fox News that a second threat stream, that involved surgically-implanted body bombs, was being monitored out of the Middle East. The latest operation is an intelligence victory for the United States and a reminder of Al Qaeda's ambitions, despite the death of bin Laden and other senior leaders. Al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. airstrike last year. Fox News' Catherine Herridge, Chad Pergram, John Brandt and the Associated Press contributed to this report.