In the midst of beefing up airport security after the Detroit terror attempt, the US is expanding passenger surveillance lists, adding "probably dozens" of names to the no-fly and watch lists, the White House tells the BBC. The new names have been moved to the lists from TIDE, the vast terrorist information database where intelligence about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab stalled out.
Security officials checked and updated the lists as part of the scrutiny of US counter terrorism strategy in the wake of the failed Christmas Day attack. Following this review, President Obama will today announce reforms intended to "improve our watch-listing system as well as our ability to thwart future attempts to carry out terrorist attacks," according to a White House official. People on the no-fly list can't board US-bound flights, while those on the watch list have to undergo extra security checks.
(More no-fly list stories.)