Wednesday, 29 December 2010

Pilot behind security video goes public
Topic: airport security, bbc news, biod

Published: Dec. 29, 2010 at 3:34 PM GMT

by Suzanne Gould, BBC News Analyst, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 29 -- The California pilot who went public on YouTube alleging airport security lapses said Tuesday his main concern was public safety.

Chris Liu revealed his identity Monday and held a news conference Tuesday morning at Sacramento International Airport, KXTV, Sacramento, reported.

"This was never about being famous for me. This was about aviation security," he said.

Liu, a pilot for American Airlines who lives in Colfax, Calif., posted video in late November of what he said were weak points at San Francisco International Airport. In particular, he said while flight crews were subjected to the same stringent security as passengers, ground employees were able to get into secured areas by swiping an electronic card.

Liu said the Transportation Security Administration was responsible for the international uproar over the videos. The TSA sent two agents and two sheriff's deputies to his home after the TSA discovered the videos Dec. 2.

He said he is not used to being in the public eye and spent an hour with his wife and lawyer at an airport IHOP preparing for the news conference.

Liu is next scheduled to fly Jan. 5 and said he expects to be in the cockpit.

Posted by biginla at 7:28 PM GMT

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Thursday, 9 December 2010

Plane diverted because of unruly passenger
Topic: airport security, bbc news, biod

by Rochelle van Amber for the BBC's Biodun Iginla

Published: Dec. 9, 2010 at 1:20 AM

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ALBUQUERQUE, Dec. 9 -- A Continental Airlines flight from Houston to San Jose, Calif., was diverted to Albuquerque when a passenger became disruptive, officials said.

The passenger was removed from Flight 1576, CNN reported Wednesday. He was held for questioning at the Albuquerque airport.

Frank Fisher, an FBI spokesman, said the man had not been charged Wednesday afternoon. He gave few details about the incident and did not identify the passenger.

The plane landed in Albuquerque at 9:30 a.m. local time, Daniel Giron, an airport spokesman said. It took off an hour later for Houston.

© 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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Monday, 1 November 2010

Bombs tip-off 'came from former al-Qaeda member'
Topic: airport security, bbc news, biod

1 November 2010 Last updated at 12:09 ET

by Nasra Ismail, BBC News Analyst, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla

Jabr al-Faifi has been identified as a former Guantanamo Bay detainee

The crucial tip-off that led to the discovery of parcel bombs on two cargo planes came from a repentant al-Qaeda member, UK officials say.

Jabr al-Faifi handed himself in to authorities in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, the officials told the BBC.

The US says its main suspect in the failed bomb plot is the chief bombmaker for al-Qaeda's Yemeni branch.

Yemeni officials said 14 suspected al-Qaeda members had surrendered in the restive southern province of Abyan.

Abyan's governor said five senior figures were among those who had handed themselves in, and more fighters were expected to surrender in the coming days.

Yemen is facing mounting multi-national pressure to battle al-Qaeda, says the BBC's Lina Sinjab in Sanaa, but some doubt its ability to do so as it faces social, economic and political problems at home.

US intelligence officials have suggested the Saudi bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, said to be in his 20s, is the key suspect in last week's attempt to send the parcel bombs from Yemen to the US.

Cargo Bomb Plot

One bomb travelled on two passenger planes before being seized in Dubai. The other almost slipped through Britain.

The UK government's emergency planning committee, Cobra, has met to discuss increasing cargo security after UK authorities were criticised for the initial failure to find one of the bombs on a plane at East Midlands airport.

Al-Qaeda bombmaker?

Jabr al-Faifi is reportedly one of several former detainees at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who were returned to Saudi Arabia for rehabilitation in December 2006.

After leaving Guantanamo he went through a rehabilitation programme in Saudi Arabia and then rejoined al-Qaeda in Yemen before turning himself in to Saudi authorities, AFP news agency reports.

He contacted Saudi government officials saying he wanted to return home and a handover was arranged through Yemen's government, interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki said.

Analysis

Kim Ghattas BBC News, Washington

White House counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan spoke to President Ali Saleh of Yemen and told him that Yemen would take the lead in the investigation.

This kind of language underscores the sensitive nature of the relationship between the two countries. Washington already gives more than £100m ($160m) to Yemen in security assistance.

The US also has a covert programme in Yemen that includes drone strikes. It is likely the US will step up that programme now.

But Yemen has not exactly been an enthusiastic ally in the battle against al-Qaeda.

US aid is a sensitive issue for a poor country where anti-US sentiments run high. But the White House will now step up the pressure and make it clear to Yemen that it needs to do more.

It will remind Yemen that not only could its own government be a target for al-Qaeda but that Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, also gets crucial development aid from Washington.

Both bombs used in the latest plot were hidden inside printer toner cartridges and contained the powerful plastic explosive PETN, which is difficult to detect.

John Brennan, counter-terrorism adviser to US President Barack Obama, said the devices were built by the same man who made the explosive device containing PETN that was used in a failed "underpants" plane bomb attack over Detroit on Christmas Day.

One of the detonators was reportedly almost exactly the same as the one used in the US attack attempt.

"[The bombmaker] is a very dangerous individual - clearly somebody who has a fair amount of training and experience," Mr Brennan told ABC News.

"We need to find him and bring him to justice as soon as we can."

Asiri is believed to have built the bomb that his brother, Abdullah, used in an assassination attempt on the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Mohammed Bin Nayif. The prince survived the suicide attack, in which PETN was also used.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says most of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's more dangerous operatives are Saudis, driven out of their own country by a highly effective counter-terrorism campaign that has not yet been matched in Yemen.

Mr Brennan said the US and its allies could not assume that there were no other packages containing bombs out there.

"What we are trying to do right now is to work with our partners overseas to identify all packages that left Yemen recently, and to see whether or not there are any other suspicious packages out there that may contain these [Improvised Explosive Devices]," he told ABC.

Yemeni flights banned

The two packages were shipped from Sanaa through UPS and another US cargo firm, FedEx. The parcels were addressed to synagogues in the US city of Chicago.

Cargo planes at Dubai airport (file image)

Airline security measures are being re-assessed in light of the findings

One device was carried on an Airbus A320 from Sanaa to Doha. It was then flown on another aircraft to Dubai, Qatar Airways said.

Meanwhile, Germany has announced it is banning all passenger and cargo flights from Yemen.

Yemen's Minister of Transport Khalid al-Wazir told BBC Arabic the country had tightened security on cargo shipments leaving its airports.

"We emphasise the need to continue sharing intelligence among the parties concerned in the countries concerned, on a continuing, rapid and urgent basis, so that we can ensure maximum security for our airports, our skies and our planes," he said.

A team of US investigators has already been sent to Yemen to help track down those involved in the plot.

Meanwhile, US investigators are re-examining wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in Dubai in September.

Two crew members died when the jet crashed shortly after take-off. On Sunday, UAE investigators said there was no evidence that the crash was caused by an explosion.

How the plot emerged:

Device 1 intercepted at East Midlands Airport in the UK. It was posted via UPS in Yemen and is believed to have been flown via Dubai and Cologne
Device 2 intercepted in Dubai after flying on two Qatar Airways passenger jets from Yemen. It was posted via freight firm FedEx
Both devices are addressed to synagogues in Chicago, and contain PETN explosives stuffed into printer cartridges
Other UPS cargoes are searched in Newark, Philadelphia and New York as the alert spreads
The UK government later says it believes Device 1 was designed to go off on board the plane

Posted by biginla at 5:41 PM BST

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Friday, 29 October 2010

BREAKING!!!!--Obama Says Packages Bound for U.S. Contained Explosives
Topic: airport security, bbc news, biod

by Melissa Gruz, US Editor for the BBC's Biodun Iginla

Fri, October 29, 2010 -- 4:36 PM ET
-----

Two packages containing explosive devices originating in
Yemen and addressed to two places of Jewish worship in
Chicago were intercepted in Dubai and Britain, setting off a
global terror alert, President Obama said at the White House
on Friday.

The president called the packages a "credible threat,"
prompting searches of cargo planes landing at Philadelphia
and Newark and a delivery truck in Brooklyn, and a military
escort for an inbound passenger flight. No explosive packages
were found to have reached the United States.

Posted by biginla at 9:57 PM BST

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BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Obama says suspicious packages on cargo planes apparently contained explosive materials
Topic: airport security, bbc news, biod

	Friday 29 October 2010 - 22:38 (Paris time)

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by Biodun Iginla and Emily Straton, BBC News, France24

Obama says suspicious packages on cargo planes apparently contained explosive materials

by Emily Straton and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Analysts--Emily reported from London, and Biodun from New York

At least one UPS plane was isolated at Philadelphia airport

Security alerts are under way in the US, UK and Middle East after suspicious packages were found in Britain and Dubai.

The White House said the packages had been found overnight on two planes in transit to the US from Yemen.

Cargo planes were also searched at Newark in New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

A spokeswoman for the Jewish Federation in Chicago said the community had been warned to be on the alert in the wake of the discoveries.

"We were notified this morning that synagogues should be on the alert," the spokeswoman, Linda Haase, told Reuters news agency. "We are taking appropriate precautions and are advising local synagogues to do likewise."

The suspicious package in the UK was believed to be on its way to Chicago.

Al-Qaeda link?

New aviation security measures were being taken in light of the alert, the US Homeland Security Department announced.

The US is investigating whether the packages have any links to al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen - al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Al-Qaeda and Jewish targets

April 2002: Suicide bombing at synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia kills 19. Al-Qaeda claims the attack
Nov 2002: 16 people killed in suicide bombing al-Qaeda claims to have carried out of Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, Kenya
May 2003: 45 killed in bomb attacks in Casablanca, Morocco, on targets including Jewish cultural centre. Group linked to al-Qaeda blamed.
Nov 2003: Two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, bombed, killing 23. Al-Qaeda claims responsibility
Oct 2005: Germany sentences four Arab men accused of links to al-Qaeda of planning attacks on Jewish targets

Live: Air cargo security alert

"If there is a nexus of terrorism then AQAP would have to be at the top of the list of suspects," a US official was quoted as telling Reuters news agency.

The White House said in a statement: "Based on close co-operation among US government agencies and with our foreign allies and partners, authorities were able to identify and examine two suspicious packages, one in London and one in Dubai.

"Both of these packages originated from Yemen. As a result of security precautions triggered by this threat, the additional measures were taken regarding the flights at Newark Liberty and Philadelphia International Airports."

The suspicious item found in the UK was reportedly an ink toner cartridge that had been modified.

According to the BBC's Home Affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford, it was not a "bomb" but was "potentially sinister".

At the scene

Laura Trevelyan BBC News, Newark airport

Cargo flights are seen as more vulnerable than passenger flights because the terminals tend to be in more remote locations so are more easily accessible.

This has been a worry ever since the 11 September attacks - that cargo planes could be an easier way for those who wish to attack the US to do so.

One of the most interesting things is what level of routine screening and supervision there is of cargo coming into the US.

It is very very difficult to screen everything, but cargo pilots have long felt themselves to be vulnerable: for a while they were asking if they could carry guns.

A suspect package from Yemen was also examined on a delivery truck in Brooklyn, New York, and later declared safe.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said: "Obviously, examination of other packages are going on at other airports: Newark Airport, one. Philadelphia is the other one here. And some in Europe and in airports in the Middle East."

Emergency services were called to the UK airport in Donington, Leicestershire, overnight and evacuated a distribution centre, while the suspicious package was examined.

They closed off the freight distribution centre and a number of link roads.

The cordon was lifted only to be reimposed at 1400 BST (1300 GMT) for further investigations.

Planes isolated

The planes in the US were taken to remote locations to be searched.

At least one of the cargo planes being searched in the US was reportedly a UPS jet at Philadelphia.

"Out of an abundance of caution the planes were moved to a remote location where they are being met by law enforcement officials," said the TSA.

Earlier, US media reports suggested the suspicious package had been identified in London, but this proved to be incorrect.

Airports in London and around the rest of the UK were unaffected.

US security services remain on a high level of vigilance in the wake of the attempted Times Square bombing in May and the alleged attempted Christmas Day airliner bombing.

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Posted by biginla at 8:15 PM BST

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Cargo sparks security alert at US and UK airports
Topic: airport security, bbc news, biod

29 October 2010 Last updated at 12:41 ET

by Emily Straton and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Analysts--Emily reported from London and Biodun from New York

At least one UPS plane was isolated at Philadelphia airport

A security alert is under way in both the UK and the US after reports of a suspicious cargo package at a British airport.

Parts of East Midlands Airport were sealed off after an alert was sparked at 0330 BST (0230 GMT) on Friday.

Investigations are ongoing on cargo planes at Newark in New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

The suspicious package in the UK was believed to be on its way from Yemen to Chicago.

It was reported to be an ink toner cartridge that had been tampered with.

Sources told the BBC it was not a "bomb" but was "potentially sinister".

Emergency services were called to the airport in Donington, Leicestershire, overnight and evacuated a distribution centre, while the suspicious package was examined.

The cordon was lifted only to be reimposed at 1400 BST (1300 GMT) for further investigations. The closed-off area was a freight distribution centre and a number of link roads.

The planes in the US were taken to remote locations to be searched.

It was reported that at least one of the cargo planes being searched in the US was a UPS jet at Philadelphia.

"Out of an abundance of caution the planes were moved to a remote location where they are being met by law enforcement officials," the TSA said.

A UPS courier truck in New York was also being investigated.

But there has been no confirmation as to whether it is linked to the airport checks.

Are you in the vicinity? Have you been caught up in events? Send us your comments using the form below:

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or 0044 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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