Air security is expected to tighten in light of recent intelligence that terrorists might be considering boarding flights with surgically implanted explosive devices, a U.S. security official said Wednesday. Here are five things to know about the warning:
1Why are the warnings being issued? Al-Qaida operatives in Yemen has discussed surgically implanting an explosive device under the skin of a suicide bomber to get past airport detectors and blow up a U.S.-bound airliner, a U.S. official said Wednesday. One senior Homeland Security Department official said that the new intelligence surfaced about a month ago and had since been vetted. There is no indication of an immediate plot, but "the new intelligence indicated at least a fresh look at this possible tactic," the official said.
2What is the focus of the threat? The Department of Homeland Security has "in recent days" warned foreign counterparts of the potential threat, said Greg Soule, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Agency. The focus is more on international flights, but domestic passengers are likely to see more security too.
3How likely is a body bomb? Experts said sewing a bomb inside a body would be possible, but it would be challenging to implant a bomb large enough to do serious damage. Such a device could be detonated wirelessly by a cell phone or radio-controlled trigger. Authorities have long been concerned about the possibility of a suicide attack involving implanted explosives and the Al-Qaida offshoot in Yemen has emerged as the most inventive terror organization these days. It was behind the Christmas Day attack in 2009 when a Nigerian hid a bomb in his underpants and nearly brought down an airliner over Detroit. Its operatives also concealed bombs in printer cartridges last October, shipping them to Chicago in a thwarted plot. And in December, the U.S. received intelligence that the group was considering hiding explosives in the insulated lining of beverage containers.
4Can body bombs be detected? A surgically implanted device would be hard to detect, but not impossible. Scanning machines in airports aren't able to detect explosives hidden inside humans because the scans are not designed to penetrate the skin. But they could see an anomaly -- such as if the implanted explosive left an unusual lump on the skin. And small particles of the explosive could be picked up by bomb-sniffing dogs and machines designed to detect traces. A passenger who has a bomb implanted also may appear sick, which could be noticed by TSA screeners trained to watch for unusual behavior. The best way would be to do a full body X-ray, but the dosage of radiation is too high to use in airports.
5What security changes can be expected? Officials did not want to discuss specific security measures being considered so as not to tip off terrorists who could seek ways to get around them. But the bolstered security could include increased use of behavior-detection officers, airport interviews, pat-down searches and efforts to detect traces of explosive materials by swabbing skin or clothing. "These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport," Soule said.
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