The US stepped up airport security on Thursday as intelligence warned al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen was planning more attacks to follow a failed Christmas Day bombing.
Officials warned of “chatter” hinting at further strikes, as US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced US-bound passengers would see increased airport security screening and armed marshals on flights.
“We must remain vigilant about the continued threat we face from al-Qaeda,” Napolitano said. “We are taking an additional set of aviation security precautions to protect the American people.”
“Some of these measures include enhanced random screening, additional federal air marshals on certain routes and adding individuals of concern to our terrorist watch list system,” she said without giving details.
The measures follow a wide-ranging security review, ordered by US President Barack Obama in the wake of a Christmas Day attempt to bomb a trans-Atlantic jet.
The Obama administration has faced fierce criticism for intelligence failures that allowed a young Nigerian man to board a Detroit-bound airliner, allegedly armed with explosives sewn into his underwear.
Yemen-trained Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (UFA), 23, has been charged with attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction on board the Northwest flight carrying 290 people from Amsterdam.
Administration officials, who asked not to be named, said Thursday’s measures responded to continued threats from Yemen-based operatives, despite a series US-backed strikes against senior militants based in the Gulf state.
“We do know AQAP [al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] sent UFA our way and it would not be prudent to suddenly think that threats like this have passed with his failure,” an administration official said. “I am sure there will be more security measure announcements in the future as we constantly review all the information available to us.”
Earlier this week Canada put its airlines and airports on high alert after receiving “specific information” about new threats.
Meanwhile, Napolitano warned those visiting the US of more airport delays.
“Travelers should allot extra time when flying particularly into the United States from overseas,” she said.
Since the Christmas Day attack, the US had already ramped up security on flights from 14 countries, including Yemen.
While laborious airport screening irks many visitors to the US, tougher measures are popular with Americans, recent polls showed.
On Thursday, a Quinnipiac University survey showed 63 percent of respondents said US anti-terror policies leaned too far toward protecting civil rights rather than national security.
Industry representatives said the tougher measures had been widely expected.
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS