Tuesday, August 23, 2011
American airports warned of potential 'belly bomb' threat
From The Hindu
Body cavity bombs, a terror “technology” that al-Qaeda first tried out on a member of Saudi royal family in 2009, may soon be deployed in terror attacks in the United States, authorities warned this week.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Service issued a bulletin to several airlines, reports said, in which it cautioned that it had “identified a potential threat from terrorists who could surgically implant explosives or explosive components in humans.”
According to some reports bombs could be concealed within “abdomens, buttocks and breasts, allowing suicide bombers to pass undetected.” The latest threat is believed to be linked principally to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has a strong base of operations in Yemen.
In August 2009, Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, who was also the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister in charge of counter-terrorism, survived an assassination attempt by an al-Qaeda operative Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri, who concealed explosives within his anal cavity. When al-Asiri triggered the explosion he was killed but Prince bin Nayef escaped with minimal injury as al-Asiri’s body was said to have shielded him from the blast impact.
Yet authorities here indicated that they expected al-Qaeda to have moved up the ladder to more sophisticated attacks using the “belly bombs” technique. Kawika Riley, Spokesman for the DHS’ Transportation Security Administration said, “Due to the significant advances in global aviation security in recent years, terrorist groups have repeatedly and publicly indicated interest in pursuing ways to further conceal explosives.”
One consequence of this development for the aviation sector is that the busy travel season this summer may be hobbled by a slew of additional security protocols at airports. Mr. Riley indicated that this was likely, adding, “As a precaution, passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures.”
While numerous U.S. airports have already introduced the controversial “naked body scanner” and advanced passenger pat-down procedures that raised a furore over intimate body contact, even these methods may be insufficient to pick up explosive elements surgically inserted into the body, experts said.
In a statement the TSA hinted that a major ramp-up in security protocols was likely and also that these procedures would be deployed to deliberately heighten uncertainty. “These measures are designed to be unpredictable,” the TSA said, “so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport.”
In particular the measures introduced may include “interaction with passengers, in addition to ... pat-downs and the use of enhanced tools and technologies,” the TSA said, which may suggest a heavier reliance on “behaviour-detection officers and airport interviews.” Skin- and clothes-swabbing for explosive element traces are already in vogue at several U.S. airports including Washington’s Dulles International.
Body cavity bombs, a terror “technology” that al-Qaeda first tried out on a member of Saudi royal family in 2009, may soon be deployed in terror attacks in the United States, authorities warned this week.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Service issued a bulletin to several airlines, reports said, in which it cautioned that it had “identified a potential threat from terrorists who could surgically implant explosives or explosive components in humans.”
According to some reports bombs could be concealed within “abdomens, buttocks and breasts, allowing suicide bombers to pass undetected.” The latest threat is believed to be linked principally to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has a strong base of operations in Yemen.
In August 2009, Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, who was also the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister in charge of counter-terrorism, survived an assassination attempt by an al-Qaeda operative Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri, who concealed explosives within his anal cavity. When al-Asiri triggered the explosion he was killed but Prince bin Nayef escaped with minimal injury as al-Asiri’s body was said to have shielded him from the blast impact.
Yet authorities here indicated that they expected al-Qaeda to have moved up the ladder to more sophisticated attacks using the “belly bombs” technique. Kawika Riley, Spokesman for the DHS’ Transportation Security Administration said, “Due to the significant advances in global aviation security in recent years, terrorist groups have repeatedly and publicly indicated interest in pursuing ways to further conceal explosives.”
One consequence of this development for the aviation sector is that the busy travel season this summer may be hobbled by a slew of additional security protocols at airports. Mr. Riley indicated that this was likely, adding, “As a precaution, passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures.”
While numerous U.S. airports have already introduced the controversial “naked body scanner” and advanced passenger pat-down procedures that raised a furore over intimate body contact, even these methods may be insufficient to pick up explosive elements surgically inserted into the body, experts said.
In a statement the TSA hinted that a major ramp-up in security protocols was likely and also that these procedures would be deployed to deliberately heighten uncertainty. “These measures are designed to be unpredictable,” the TSA said, “so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport.”
In particular the measures introduced may include “interaction with passengers, in addition to ... pat-downs and the use of enhanced tools and technologies,” the TSA said, which may suggest a heavier reliance on “behaviour-detection officers and airport interviews.” Skin- and clothes-swabbing for explosive element traces are already in vogue at several U.S. airports including Washington’s Dulles International.
Labels: Al-Qaeda, belly bomb threat, U.S. airports
# posted by Narayan Lakshman @ 10:34 AM 
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