The Department of Homeland Security Monday set new air cargo security rules that ban all cargo from Somalia and Yemen and prohibiting the transport of printer toner and ink cartridges weighing more than one pound on passenger flights, the Associated Press reported.
The new rules come after counterterrorism officials thwarted a terror plot last month that shipped bombs hidden inside printers in packages bound on aircraft from Yemen to the United States. (Click here for story in Nov. 8 print edition.)
Monday's announcement extends an immediate temporary ban to a full ban on that country and on Somalia, where intelligence officials believe terrorists are actively plotting attacks against the United States, AP reported.
The Obama administration is also “working closely with industry and our international partners to expedite the receipt of cargo manifests for international flights to the United States prior to departure in order to identify and screen items based on risk and current intelligence,” said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
“We are also working with our international and private sector partners on the expansion of layered detections system including technology and other measures,” she said in a statement.
