US authorities have warned airport security screeners to scrutinise cameras, laptop computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices after learning terrorists might use them to hide bombs, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said today.
The move is part of increased security measures taken in the wake of specific intelligence reports indicating al-Qaeda and other groups were planning to hijack US airliners in a repeat of the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks.
"We found and discovered that there have been efforts to use electronic devices to conceal explosive devices," Ridge said at a news conference.
"To date there's no indication that they have used these kinds of devices."
US officials already have ended two programs allowing foreigners without visas to pass through the United States while en route to other countries in response to the latest intelligence.
The transit programs were seen by security experts as particularly vulnerable because they allowed foreigners access to US airports and domestic flights without standard background checks, US officials said.
The Homeland Security Department also has deployed more air marshals aboard US flights and enhanced security at airports.
In the September 11 attacks, 19 al-Qaeda members used four hijacked airliners as suicide weapons, killing more than 3,000 in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The attacks led to the creation of the Homeland Security Department and a federal force of airport security screeners under its control.
Ridge and other senior US officials have said they expect al-Qaeda to stage another terrorist attack on the United States in spite of efforts to prevent it.
He said the deadly bombing in Indonesia blamed on a militant Islamist group and threats by al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri on a tape broadcast Sunday were indications of the ongoing danger.
However, there are no current plans to raise the terrorism threat level from yellow, or elevated, to orange, or high, as it was in May, Ridge said.
"We are at an elevated level of risk. America is vigilant," he said.
"Commercial aviation today is substantially, dramatically, significantly safer today than it was on September 11."
Ridge, whose department has faced criticism it was not responding fast enough to terror threats, said authorities were able to move quickly on the latest warning because they had specific information that al-Qaeda was trying to sneak explosives through US airport security in cameras, laptops and other electronic devices.
Newsweek magazine, citing unnamed sources, reported this week that the information came from al-Qaeda's alleged leader in Saudi Arabia, Ali al-Ghamdi. Ghamdi, the suspected mastermind of May 12 suicide attacks in Riyadh, surrendered to Saudi authorities in June.
Making the rounds of US television talk shows on Sunday, Ridge said uncovering specific threats is difficult amid the constant "chatter" as terrorists examine US defences for opportunities to attack.
In recent months, reports have emerged suggesting possible terror attacks against US food and water supplies, the oil industry, subway and light rail systems and ferry boats.
The move is part of increased security measures taken in the wake of specific intelligence reports indicating al-Qaeda and other groups were planning to hijack US airliners in a repeat of the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks.
"We found and discovered that there have been efforts to use electronic devices to conceal explosive devices," Ridge said at a news conference.
"To date there's no indication that they have used these kinds of devices."
US officials already have ended two programs allowing foreigners without visas to pass through the United States while en route to other countries in response to the latest intelligence.
The transit programs were seen by security experts as particularly vulnerable because they allowed foreigners access to US airports and domestic flights without standard background checks, US officials said.
The Homeland Security Department also has deployed more air marshals aboard US flights and enhanced security at airports.
In the September 11 attacks, 19 al-Qaeda members used four hijacked airliners as suicide weapons, killing more than 3,000 in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The attacks led to the creation of the Homeland Security Department and a federal force of airport security screeners under its control.
Ridge and other senior US officials have said they expect al-Qaeda to stage another terrorist attack on the United States in spite of efforts to prevent it.
He said the deadly bombing in Indonesia blamed on a militant Islamist group and threats by al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri on a tape broadcast Sunday were indications of the ongoing danger.
However, there are no current plans to raise the terrorism threat level from yellow, or elevated, to orange, or high, as it was in May, Ridge said.
"We are at an elevated level of risk. America is vigilant," he said.
"Commercial aviation today is substantially, dramatically, significantly safer today than it was on September 11."
Ridge, whose department has faced criticism it was not responding fast enough to terror threats, said authorities were able to move quickly on the latest warning because they had specific information that al-Qaeda was trying to sneak explosives through US airport security in cameras, laptops and other electronic devices.
Newsweek magazine, citing unnamed sources, reported this week that the information came from al-Qaeda's alleged leader in Saudi Arabia, Ali al-Ghamdi. Ghamdi, the suspected mastermind of May 12 suicide attacks in Riyadh, surrendered to Saudi authorities in June.
Making the rounds of US television talk shows on Sunday, Ridge said uncovering specific threats is difficult amid the constant "chatter" as terrorists examine US defences for opportunities to attack.
In recent months, reports have emerged suggesting possible terror attacks against US food and water supplies, the oil industry, subway and light rail systems and ferry boats.
