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Tag: Arabian Peninsula

  • TSA Bans Uncharged Cellphones on Certain Flights

    TSA Bans Uncharged Cellphones on Certain Flights

    The U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced Sunday that it will not allow cellphones or other electronics on U.S.-bound planes originating at some international airports if the devices are not charged up. The ban is part of heightened security measures surrounding Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamist Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, seeking to blow up a jetliner.

    Passengers will be required to power up their devices at certain security checkpoints, to assure that the encasement is not a hidden bomb. Laptops and tablets will be included in the checks, and U.S. officials have stated that security officers will be paying closer attention to passengers’ shoes, as they can be used as bombs as well.

    The added security will apply primarily to U.S.-bound direct flights from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, though the TSA did not specify which airports will be affected, and said in a statement, “As the traveling public knows, all electronic devices are screened by security officers. During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless devices will not be permitted onboard the aircraft. The traveler may also undergo additional screening.”

    U.S. officials have feared that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) bomb makers have figured out how to fashion a difficult to detect explosive device into a smartphone. Interestingly, American authorities have singled out the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy series as the phones to keep an eye on as being potential bombs.

    Devices found to not be powered up will be confiscated, and the passenger carrying it might be taken into custody for questioning. The TSA adds, “[we] will continue to adjust security measures to ensure that travelers are guaranteed the highest levels of aviation security conducted as conveniently as possible.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • AQAP Stages Suicide Car Bombing, Kills 38 Yemenis

    The AP via USA Today reported earlier today that al-Qaeda militants in Yemen launched a coordinated attack on a military barracks in the southern part of the country called Shabwa province. 38 soldiers were killed in the attacks and dozens of others were wounded.

    Yemeni defense official Maj. Mohammed Nasser, speaking about the attacks, said that the soldiers were caught unprepared, and that Shabwa Province is widely known to be an al-Qaeda stronghold. The attacks began as militants tried to storm three military encampments in Maysaa, Kamp, and al-Ain. At Kamp, the guards outside the barracks were overpowered and a suicide car bomb was driven inside; most of the casualties occurred when this first bomb detonated.

    At al-Ain, ground-based infantry fighting was continuing to occur throughout the morning, and a second car bomb was detonated outside the barracks.

    The attack seems to have had a dual purpose: Nasser reported that although the militants lost eight jihadists in the assault, they gained six hostages in the form of seized soldiers and five unspecified military vehicles.

    Yemeni authorities have been waging war against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, because officials in Washington consider it to be the deadliest and most dangerous offshoot of the al-Qaeda brand. AQAP has recently been orchestrating a series of attacks on the military and has claimed responsibility for the assassinations of a variety of officials.

    These latest attacks are the largest yet made against the Yemeni military, and they come in the wake of warnings from Sanaa that more al-Qaeda attacks are on the way. In response to the continued attacks on Yemeni security forces, the United States stepped up the drone war efforts.

    The AP also reported that the AQAP franchise had claimed responsibility for several foiled bomb plots against US citizens, including one involving an underwear bomb on an airline and another plot to hide mail bombs in toner printer cartridges.

    [Image via a brief YouTube video of an Al-Jazeera report on AQAP]