Laptop bombs that fool airport scanners
US intelligence has warned of bombmakers who can plant explosives inside devices which can go undetected by standard screening
The US intelligence has warned of an alarming level of sophistication by al Qaeda and Islamic State bomb-makers, who can plant explosives inside electronic devices which can go undetected by screening equipment used at most airports.
Multipleusmediareportssuggested that the terror groups might have used sophisticated airport security equipment to test and improve their devices. One report suggested bomb-makers with these outfits are able to pack laptops with explosives and still get them to switch on — just long enough to fool security screeners, despite the missing batteries.
These intelligence inputs collected and analysed in the past few months were the leading reasons for the US and UK banning electronic devices larger than mobile phones as cabin baggage on direct flights from eight Muslim-majority countries.
But given the new intelligence, questions are being asked if the current restrictions are broad enough and whether they be extended to other destinations, and whether other countries that have a long history of dealing with terrorism could consider similar steps.
“As a matter of policy, we do not publicly discuss specific intelligence information. However, evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in electronics,” the department of homeland security told CNN.
The intelligence community around the world has long prepared for any and every foreseen threat from terrorists trying new ways to smuggle explosives aboard.
Richard Calvin Reed carried them in his shoes in 2001. In 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab packed his underwear with explosive that he set off when his flight entered US airspace, but was muscled down by passengers alarmed by smoke.
The present threat of a laptop laden with explosives was first detected in February 2016, when a bomb in the cavity meant for a CD-ROM exploded on a flight in Somalia while the plane was midair. The plane had not reached cruising height and the pilots brought it down safely.