Yemen : The mole studied Arabic in Yemen to draw al Qaeda 's attention , source says . When the device used in the Christmas Day plot was examined , a set of fingerprints matched those of al-Asiri held in a Saudi database . NEW : Saudi agents smuggled him out of Yemen and separately retrieved the bomb , he says . The mole was a British citizen of Saudi descent who had fallen in with jihadist groups . Al Qaeda 's Yemeni branch has ` ` a whole outfit '' , " , source says .
Yemen : The mole studied Arabic in Yemen to draw al Qaeda 's attention , source says . NEW : Saudi agents smuggled him out of Yemen and separately retrieved the bomb , he says . The mole was a British citizen of Saudi descent who had fallen in with jihadist groups . Al Qaeda 's Yemeni branch has ` ` a whole outfit '' , " , source says .