The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has tightened security at its airports amid heightened terror threats. Reports suggest that terrorists may use explosives that may go undetected by metal detectors.
Terrorist attacks have become one of the biggest challenges for the U.S. government security agencies after the 9/11 attack in New York, which killed around 3,000 people and resulted in the loss of $10 billion worth of property and infrastructure.
On Wednesday, July 2, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson cited global threat concerns and issued a statement confirming the agency's efforts to enhance security at some overseas airports, which has direct flights to the U.S.
The U.S. does not have any control of overseas airports and airlines. However, the Department of Homeland Security indicates that overseas airports should meet certain security criteria, which are set by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) so that nonstop services are provided to U.S. cities.
"As part of this ongoing process, I have directed TSA to implement enhanced security measures in the coming days at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the United States. We will work to ensure these necessary steps pose as few disruptions to travelers as possible. We are sharing recent and relevant information with our foreign allies and are consulting the aviation industry," says Johnson in the statement.
Johnson does not specify the affected overseas airports, measures taken to counter terrorism or the nature of the threat. However, enhanced security measures will soon be required for direct flights to the U.S. from airports located in Europe, Africa, Middle East and more.
A Department of Homeland Security official says that information regarding airports where security is beefed up and the measures taken to enhance security is sensitive and will not be disclosed.
The U.S. government is said to be concerned as rumors are prevailing that Syrian militants are developing improvised explosives that are non-metallic and may go undetected by the current metal detectors. The bombs may contain liquid explosives that a terrorist can carry on a plane.
John Michaud, who is a former Naval Criminal Investigative Service anti-terrorism agent, says that terrorist groups are attracting people from outside the Middle East, which makes the task difficult for security agencies to find suspects.
"We're seeing more and more European, non-Arab looking people join this group, and that makes it much easier for them to leave a European country and bring a device to the United States," says Michaud.
