al-Qaida may use body bombs to blow up jets: US

LONDON: US security experts have warned airlines and airport authorities to be on high alert for possible al-Qaida attempts to blow up passenger jets using “body bombs” surgically implanted in suicide attackers.

Attempts are being made to implant explosives into the abdomens , buttocks and breasts of suicide bombers so they can pass undetected through new airport body scanners, Daily Mirror reported on Wednesday.

“US security experts have warned airlines and airport authorities about the new threat,” the British paper said, quoting from a secret memo seen by it. They fear fanatics could inject a detonating chemical into themselves to trigger the bombs. US transport bosses informed UK’s department for transport in a memo last month about the emergence of “body bombs,” the report said.

The US transportation and security administration wrote: “Our Government has information indicating doctors have offered to help extremists surgically implant explosive devices in humans and animals for terrorist attacks.”

The memo then warns current screening devices at UK airports are unlikely to detect surgically implanted devices. Potential bombers would carry a letter from a doctor claiming they have had surgery and need to carry a needle and syringe for medical reasons. It would be sufficient to clear security during check-in for a flight. The emergence of “body bombs” could see further delays for travellers as airports ramp up security.

Terror experts confirmed small pouches of high explosives such as Pentaerythritol Tetra Nitrate (PETN) could be implanted into the body.

The wounds would be allowed to heal over and the bomb would be detonated in mid air by injecting a chemical into the pouch. Just eight ounces of PETN, the weight of a Rubik’s Cube, could bring down a plane, experts warned.

Al-Qaida terrorists are known to have hidden bombs inside their bodies in suicide bombings. In August 2009, Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri died during an attempt to kill Saudi Arabia’s deputy interior minister with a bomb in his anal passage.

Experts say more sophisticated screening devices has led terrorists to seek new ways of smuggling bombs on to planes. “This is a logical next step for them. We have seen cases where Qaida has used bombs concealed in body,” aviation security expert Chris Yates said. PTI