Heightened security measures for US bound passengers

All flights coming in from fourteen countries identified by the US as terror bound countries will have to undergo heightened security measures and undergo enhanced mandatory body screening, reports indicate.

According to the Transport Security Administration, all in bound passengers that will be flying to the US will have to undergo security measures such as threat based screens or random screening by authorities. The tight measures will come into effect from Sunday the 10th of January.

However, heightened security measures including pat downs and enhanced screening will be made mandatory only for passengers travelling from 14 countries which have been listed by the government. Some of them include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Nigeria, Yemen and Somalia.

The enhanced security measures come into effect after the failed bombing of a US bound airline by a Nigerian national. Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab attempted to blow up flight 253 by a mixture of liquid and powder which he had strapped to his feet en route from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Passengers aboard that ill fated aircraft reported the detonation sounded like fire crackers going off. Abdul Mutallab’s feet were covered in flames in a short while but the airline crew and passengers put out the fire with the help of fire extinguishers and blankets. As the flight landed at Detroit, Abdul Mutallab was taken into custody by government officials. He was escorted off the tarmac. He has declared that he is a part of the infamous Al-Qaeda network and he obtained the explosive materials and training on how to use them in Yemen.

President Obama has accused a Yemeni-based cell of the terror group Al-Qaeda of masterminding the incident. The President is now scheduled to meet his advisors and security heads shortly to review all the security options in the country.