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Officials Watching for 'Body Bombs' on Planes

Threat of surgically implanted bombs is real: officials

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted May 1, 2012 3:40 AM CDT

(Newser) – As the anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden looms, security for US-bound flights has been stepped up around the world. While authorities say that there is no specific information of an impending attack timed for the anniversary, one threat that officials are watching for is "body bombs" that may have been surgically implanted into would-be suicide bombers in an effort to evade airport security, ABC reports.

There is plenty of space inside the human body in which to implant explosives, although high-tech scanners may be able to detect "body bombs," say experts. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula bombmaker Ibrahim al-Asiri—a man so ruthless that he implanted a bomb in his own brother's rectal cavity in a failed attempt to kill Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief—is believed to be designing body bombs. Authorities say that al-Asiri was responsible for the "underwear bomb" which Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used in an attempt to bring down a plane over Detroit in 2009.

Saudi fugitive Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri is believed to be AQAP's master bomb-maker.
Saudi fugitive Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri is believed to be AQAP's master bomb-maker.   (Saudi Interior Ministry)
A passenger goes through a full-body scanner at Hamburg Airport.
A passenger goes through a full-body scanner at Hamburg Airport.   (Getty Images)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
Observer
May 1, 2012 11:24 AM CDT
If we know these killers by name - why are they still breathing? Speaking of names - how about naming all the slimy Secret Service guys fucking prostitutes in Colombia? Many American towns out the johns just to let the neighbors know.
Spudsy
May 1, 2012 11:08 AM CDT
"a man so ruthless that he implanted a bomb in his own brother's rectal cavity"  ---  Yet another bizarre example of the conservative right's infatuation with other people's assholes. 
slammer
May 1, 2012 9:25 AM CDT
SAD VERY SAD! BAD GUYS WON WITHOUT FIREING A SINGLE SHOT!  THEY DONT EVEN HAVE TO GET ON THE PLANE! THEY HAVE CREATED CHAOS AMOUNG US AND THAT CAN BE WORST THAN YOU WOULD THINK IT COULD BE! TSA SHUTS DOWN AIRPORT 3 MONTH BOY NOT CHECKED FOR BOMB! 96 YEAR OLD GRANDMA IN WHEEL CHAIR STRIP SEARCHED. 10 YEAR OLD BOY WITH BROKEN LEG MADE TO REMOVE CAST! I AM SURE YOU GET THE IDEA BY NOW. PS I GAVE SCREANER ONE GOOD HIT WITH GAS FROM MY ASS!
 

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