Daesh plot behind ban?

BUT GOVERNMENT FAILS TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC AND CREDIBLE THREAT OF IMMINENT ATTACK

Intelligence showing that Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is developing a bomb hidden in portable electronics spurred the US and Britain on Tuesday to bar passengers from airports in a total of 10 Muslim-majority countries from carrying laptop computers, iPads and other devices larger than a cell phone aboard direct inbound flights, two senior US counterterrorism officials have claimed.

Two other US officials said the explosives were designed to be hidden in laptop batteries. All four spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to publicly discuss the sensitive information. The Trump administration maintained that the new restrictions did not signal a credible, specific threat of an imminent attack. Officials said the alert reflects concerns that Daesh is ready — or soon will be — to launch new capabilities against the West. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, declined to address the intelligence during a news media briefing on Tuesday.

Officials said passengers still could carry cell phones and other small devices into the aeroplane’s cabin, while larger items like laptops would have to be stowed with checked luggage.

In all, airports in 10 countries, stretching from North Africa to the Mideast and into Turkey, are affected by the new restrictions. Both the US and Britain have imposed the ban on flights from some airports in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Washington also has restricted some flights from Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and the UAE. London, meanwhile, has additionally restricted flights from some airports in Lebanon and Tunisia.

The targeting of a jetliner using explosives shows how Daesh, which has long worked to inspire terrorist attacks, is trying to compete with groups Intelligence inputs

Now, US intelligence officials believe Daesh has also developed explosives that can be hidden in electronic devices, one of the senior counterterror officials said.

Republican Representative Peter King, who sits on the House Intelligence and Homeland Security committees, said that government officials had called him on Saturday to alert him to the impending ban. “It was based on intelligence reports that are fairly recent,” King said. “Intelligence of something possibly planned.” The Department of Homeland Security said the restricted items on flights to the US included laptop computers, tablets, cameras, travel printers and games bigger than a phone.

The restrictions would not apply to aircraft crews.

However, not every traveller is convinced of the rationale behind the ban. “Why are only Middle Eastern airlines subject to this ban?” asked Kelsey Norman, a doctoral student who plans to fly home Friday to Los Angeles from Beirut — and expects to have to check her laptop, a Kindle tablet and her DSLR camera. “Overall this policy is inconvenient, discriminatory, and continues to hurt America’s rapidly deteriorating reputation globally.”

Officials have not said how long the ban would remain in place or if other airports would be added. In all, an estimated 50 flights each day into the US would be affected. One of the world’s busiest airports, in Abu Dhabi already requires USbound passengers to undergo strict screening by US customs officials before boarding flights.