A security official looks at a screen displaying X-ray screened parcels in Turkish Post's (PTT) postal logistic centre at the Ataturk International airport in Istanbul, Turkey on November 6, 2010. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
Jana Winter and Clive Irving, Daily Beast: U.S. Raid on Al Qaeda in Yemen Led to Laptop Ban on Flights, Officials Say
Intel sources fear terrorist can make bombs as small as computer batteries, provoking the ban on carry-on electronics at sensitive foreign airports.
Three intelligence sources told The Daily Beast that the ban on carry-on electronics aboard U.S.-bound flights from 10 airports in North Africa and the Middle East was the result of information seized during a U.S. raid on Al Qaeda in Yemen in January. The United Kingdom joined the U.S. ban Tuesday.
Information from the raid shows al Qaeda's successful development of compact, battery bombs that fit inside laptops or other devices believed to be strong enough to bring down an aircraft, the sources said. The battery bombs would need to be manually triggered, a source explained, which is why the electronics ban is only for the aircraft cabin not checked luggage.
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Update: U.S., Britain curb electronics on flights from Middle East, North Africa (Reuters)
WNU Editor: Converting electronic devices such as laptops into bombs has always been a big worry for as long as I can remember. Did the Yemen raid revealed something that was not known before .... maybe. But the critics are now starting to voice their doubts on the effectiveness of such a ban .... Experts criticize US electronic devices ban on some flights from Middle East (Reuters). There are also others who believe that this ban has nothing to do with security, but as a punitive measure targeting certain airlines that receive government subsidies .... Trump won’t allow you to use iPads or laptops on certain airlines. Here’s why. (Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, Washington Post).
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