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04/01/2010 - 07:39:35
Passengers flying into the United States from Nigeria, Yemen and other “countries of interest” will be subject to enhanced screening techniques, such as body scans and pat-downs, the US Transportation Security Administration said.

Starting today, all passengers on US-bound international flights will be subject to random screening. Airports are also directed to increase “threat-based” screening of passengers who may be acting in a suspicious manner.

In addition, anyone travelling from or though nations regarded as state sponsors of terrorism – as well as “other countries of interest” – will be required to go through enhanced screening.

The TSA said those techniques include full-body pat-downs, carry-on bag searches, full-body scanning and explosive detection technology.

The State Department lists Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism.

The other countries whose passengers will face enhanced screening include Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man who allegedly tried to set off an explosive device aboard a Northwest airliner on Christmas Day, told US investigators he received training and instructions from al Qaida operatives in Yemen.

The TSA said the ability to enforce the new security measures is the “result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners”.

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Washington (CNN) -- The Transportation Security Administration announced Sunday that it will begin enhanced screening procedures Monday on any U.S.-bound air passenger traveling through "state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest" such as Pakistan, Yemen and Nigeria.
The TSA said in a statement announcing the new measures that "effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders."
A senior government official, not authorized to speak on the record, provided CNN with the full list of 14 countries that fall under the TSA's "countries of interest" label -- which will automatically trigger the enhanced screening.
The State Department lists four countries as those that sponsor terror: Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Iran. The other 10 countries of interest are Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen, the government official said.
Another source, a senior State Department official who could not speak on the record due to the sensitive nature of the material, said the countries on the list are places "where we have concerns, particularly about al Qaeda affiliates."
The official said the State Department was heavily involved in compiling the list, along with Department of Homeland Security and other intelligence agencies. The State Department compiles the annual "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report, which details terrorism trends in countries around the world.
Passengers from other countries could still face enhanced security for other reasons.
Nations on the list
The TSA says air travel to the United States through "state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest" will trigger enhanced screening. A senior government official says 14 countries fall under that label:

State sponsors of terrorism, as listed by the State Department:

Cuba
Iran
Sudan
Syria

"Countries of interest," according to a senior government official:

Afghanistan
Algeria
Iraq
Lebanon
Libya
Nigeria
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
Yemen
Unlike many TSA security directives, this one does not have an expiration date and is intended to be "sustainable and long term," although the TSA will continually evaluate the mandate in light of intelligence, a federal counterterrorism official told CNN.
The TSA said any person flying into the United States who is "traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening."
The TSA did not elaborate on what those enhanced security procedures might entail. The directive was issued to domestic and international air carriers.
In addition, the directive also keeps in place a mandate -- issued after an attempted Christmas Day terror attack on a U.S.-bound flight -- giving pilots discretion to prevent passengers from keeping pillows and blankets on their laps during certain international flights, the official said. Also retained is the option for pilots to limit movement in the cabin on those international flights.
Federal authorities have charged Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, 23, of Nigeria, in connection with the failed Christmas Day attack on a flight between the Netherlands and Detroit, Michigan. Authorities have said he tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear as the flight made its final approach to Detroit. The device failed to fully detonate, instead setting off a fire at his seat

That's really not right, one man's action is affecting a whole nation, i will really affect the image of Nigeria to the international society, This Guy just messed up real bad

very bad

Very very bad, the innocent ones have to suffer it,

I agree. The US authorities have gone way overboard on this. Totally overkill to subject a country that has not had any other terrorism related issues to this. I expect them to re-evaluate the restrictions as time goes on. If anything our Government should be up in arms and letting the world know that this is not us. Nigeria does NOT belong on that list at all!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1240391/Body-scanners-approved-anger-ethnic-profiling.html

my own is since when (as a christian igbo woman) have i become a citizen of a muslim country, apparently Nigeria is now deemed an islamic state? na wah o.

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LONDON — American authorities announced that as of Monday, anyone traveling from or through nations regarded as state sponsors of terrorism — as well as "other countries of interest" — will be required to go through enhanced screening techniques before boarding flights.

The Transportation Security Administration said those heightened security measures would include full-body pat-downs, carryon bag searches, full-body scanning and explosive detection technology.

The U.S. State Department lists Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism. The other countries whose passengers will face enhanced screening include Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.

The new measures followed the arrest of a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who allegedly tried to set off an explosive device on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.

Germany announced increased security at all airports following the failed Christmas Day attack, but authorities on Monday said no further measures have been taken since.

U.S. officials in Washington said the new security measures would be implemented Monday but there were few visible changes on the ground in Europe, which has thousands of passengers on hundreds of daily flights to the United States.


Large hubs such as London, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt alone account for 20-30 trans-Atlantic flights a day each.

In Britain, a major international transport hub, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation said he was still trying to decipher the practical implications for Britain of the new U.S. rules. He refused to give his name due to the sensitivity of the subject.

In Switzerland, authorities were studying the new U.S. security measures, but so far the old controls were still in place, said Jean-Claude Donzel, spokesman for Swiss International Air Lines.

And a security official in Spain, who spoke on condition on anonymity in line with agency rules, said U.S.-bound passengers from countries on the new watch list were not being singled out for body frisks.

Muslim advocacy groups bristled at the new TSA rules and urged the agency to consider alternatives. “It comes pretty close to across-the-board profiling of Muslim travelers,” said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic relations, adding that it would unfairly single out not just foreigners but Muslim Americans traveling to see their families in the selected countries. “It only serves to alienate those whose hearts and minds we’re trying to win.”

Alejandro Beutel, government liaison for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said the ruling would cast such a wide net as to ultimately be ineffective.

“We do see this as profiling, and profiling is very poor policing,” he said.

Elsewhere in the world, there has been a general ramping up of security since Christmas.

In Jordan, a key U.S. ally, security was beefed up at Amman's main international airport since the Christmas Day bombing attempt. An official at Queen Alia International Airport said "enhanced techniques" were being applied, especially in screening passengers bound for the United States. He declined to elaborate.

Pakistan's national airline said it was intensifying security checks for U.S.-bound passengers, even though there are no direct flights to the States from Pakistan. Screening was also stepped up for those flying to the U.S. from other parts of Asia and the Middle East.

"It is beyond my imagination what more they could do," said Nadim Umer, 40, a Karachi-based linen merchant who said he was subjected to a strip search when he arrived in New York last June. "Those who are dying to go to America at any cost can put up with all this inhuman behavior, but I cannot."

A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines said the company began applying the new security standards Jan. 1 on U.S.-bound passengers.

Sultan Hasan said the passengers are subjected to special screening, including full body searches, in a designated area of the departure lounge. He said the airline had run advertisements in newspapers to warn prospective passengers of the increased safety measures. maintaining strict security standards at all airports for all flights.

"We are already carrying out all possible security arrangements at our airports which can be compared with any Western airport," Pervez George, spokesman for Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority. "Safety of the airliners and passengers as well as security at the airports is a top priority and we are maintaining it irrespective where the flight is going."

In South Korea, an official at Seoul's Incheon International Airport, Lee Ji-hye, said U.S.-bound passengers are now required to go through additional security before boarding their flights, and security officials also compile lists of "suspicious" passengers to monitor based on their nationalities, travel patterns and ticket purchases.

Australian Transport Ministry spokeswoman Moksha Watts said all passengers flying to the U.S. would continue to be patted down and have all their cabin luggage searched.

Baghdad's International Airport already has extremely tight security, with passengers having their luggage sniffed by dogs and getting patted down before entering the airport.

"Our security procedures at the airport are more intensified than that in any other airport in the world," said security official Umran Idris.

Maayan Malkin, spokeswoman for Israel Airports Authority, declined to discuss security arrangements. The Ben-Gurion International airport is considered one of the safest in the world.