After Yemen plot :

Govts tighten air security

UK: Governments tightened aviation security on Monday after two U.S-bound bombs sent in air cargo from Yemen were intercepted in Dubai and Britain. The devices, discovered on Friday, were hidden in printers and would have been powerful enough to destroy the planes carrying them, Britain said.

The plot highlighted what appeared to be a loophole in air cargo security after Qatar Airways confirmed the Dubai parcel had been transported on its passenger planes from the Yemeni capital Sanaa via Doha. Britain said it believed the attempt was organised by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), but said it had no information the organisation was planning further attacks.

A U.S. official has said Saudi bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, believed to be working with AQAP, is a key suspect. As a precaution, Britain said it was banning air passengers from taking large toner cartridges onto planes as hand luggage, while Nigeria said it would improve the scanning of cargo bound for the United States.

Airline security in Africa’s most populous country has come under heightened scrutiny after a failed Christmas Day bombing attempt on a U.S. airliner blamed on a Nigerian passenger with explosives concealed in his underwear and claimed by AQAP. The Dutch anti-terrorism agency banned all airborne post and freight from Yemen entering the Netherlands. Germany said it had suspended passenger flights from Yemen, and was considering expanding a cargo flight ban to other unnamed countries.

Britain said it was also banning all air freight sent from Somalia, adding to a ban on Yemen cargo flights imposed at the weekend.

London, Tuesday, Reuters