Kweli
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 14, 2007
- 1,152
- 302
Unaccompanied freight flown to the UK from Somalia as well as Yemen will be banned in the wake of the cargo plane bombs, the home secretary has told MPs.
The move was based on possible contact between al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali terrorist groups, Theresa May said.
Toner cartridges over 500g will also be banned from hand baggage on UK flights.
There was no information another attack was imminent, she said, but she confirmed a review of all aspects of air freight security.
Mrs May was speaking to MPs in the Commons after a meeting of the government's emergency planning committee Cobra.
It met on Monday following Friday's discovery of a bomb on a US-bound UPS cargo plane at East Midlands airport and a similar bomb on a FedEx plane in Dubai.
The explosive contained in the device was found after a tip-off and was not picked up by initial screening.
Investigators at East Midlands carried out a re-examination as a precaution and the bomb was found hidden in a printer cartridge posted in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
UK officials said the tip-off came from al-Qaeda member Jabr Al-Faifi who turned himself in to Saudi authorities two weeks ago.
Mrs May announced the measures, which will come into force at midnight, as she updated MPs on the air cargo bomb plot.
She said two bombs identified in the plot originated in Yemen but suspending freight flights from Somalia was necessary because of a possible link between terrorists in the two countries and concerns over airport security in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
She said: "We are in a constant battle with the terrorists. They are always looking for another... innovative way, in which they can try to get around our defences."
Source: BBC News - Air freight from Yemen and Somalia banned
The move was based on possible contact between al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali terrorist groups, Theresa May said.
Toner cartridges over 500g will also be banned from hand baggage on UK flights.
There was no information another attack was imminent, she said, but she confirmed a review of all aspects of air freight security.
Mrs May was speaking to MPs in the Commons after a meeting of the government's emergency planning committee Cobra.
It met on Monday following Friday's discovery of a bomb on a US-bound UPS cargo plane at East Midlands airport and a similar bomb on a FedEx plane in Dubai.
The explosive contained in the device was found after a tip-off and was not picked up by initial screening.
Investigators at East Midlands carried out a re-examination as a precaution and the bomb was found hidden in a printer cartridge posted in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
UK officials said the tip-off came from al-Qaeda member Jabr Al-Faifi who turned himself in to Saudi authorities two weeks ago.
Mrs May announced the measures, which will come into force at midnight, as she updated MPs on the air cargo bomb plot.
She said two bombs identified in the plot originated in Yemen but suspending freight flights from Somalia was necessary because of a possible link between terrorists in the two countries and concerns over airport security in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
She said: "We are in a constant battle with the terrorists. They are always looking for another... innovative way, in which they can try to get around our defences."
Source: BBC News - Air freight from Yemen and Somalia banned
