Russian operatives placed explosives packages on Cargo planes….

European security officials have linked suspected Russian operatives to a plot to smuggle incendiary devices onto a cargo plane in Germany, in what investigators believe may have been a trial run for future attacks targeting North America-bound aircraft.

An international probe that began after one of the devices caught fire prematurely in July determined that the plotters also sent packages without the flammable contents to U.S. and Canadian addresses, in an apparent test to see if the parcels could be successfully delivered, according to European security officials.