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United States

New airport security measures to act on intelligence

The United States is to overhaul the way it assesses people travelling into the country by plane, according to US media reports. Officials say the new system is designed to "surgically" target terrorist suspects rather than people of certain nationalities.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, pictured here on an Islamist website, was charged with attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound plane last year.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, pictured here on an Islamist website, was charged with attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound plane last year. Reuters
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The new approach will replace a mandatory screening system of all passengers travelling to the United States from 14 mostly-Muslim countries. Those changes were introduced after a failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day last year.

US media reports say the level of screening will now depend on how closely passengers match intelligence on potential terrorists.

An anonymous official quoted by The Washington Post said the changes were “more tailored” towards acting on intelligence information “as opposed to stopping all individuals from a particular nationality”.

Another official told The New York Times that the new system could not be “called profiling in the traditional sense. It is intelligence-based.”

The new measures are expected to be introduced this month and will also apply to US citizens. A no-fly list list of terrorist suspects will remain in place.

The changes follow a three-month review of security protocols ordered by President Barack Obama. 

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