New Airport Security Concern: 'Creative' Bombs

Intelligence indicates terrorists in Syria may be working on them
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 30, 2014 8:55 AM CDT
Eye on Syria Threat, US May Boost Airport Security
A traveler removes his shoes at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 in Atlanta.   (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kent D. Johnson)

The US may boost security measures at its own airports—and call for improvements abroad—amid fears of attacks fueled by the crisis in Syria, ABC News reports. Terrorists in the country, according to new US intelligence, may be working on "creative" bombs targeting commercial planes, sources tell ABC. Thousands of fighters in the region have US and European passports; they may aim to attack flights headed to the US or Europe. The threat "is different and more disturbing than past aviation plots," says one insider.

Extremists in Syria, including those allied with the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, appear to be joining forces with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen branch of the group, which was behind 2009's "underwear bomber." To deal with the threat, the US could do more random screenings or subject some travelers to more scrutiny. Speaking to ABC, President Obama pointed to domestic concerns over fighting in Syria and Iraq, citing the danger of extremists with European passports; he called for increased intelligence and surveillance to deal with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports. (More Syria stories.)

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