US tightens airline passenger restrictions in view of anticipated terror threat

Cell phones and other electronic devices will have to pass through additional inspection

The Transportation Security Administration in the United States has tightened security restrictions further for passengers taking international flights into the country in view of an anticipated terror strike.

According to a CNN report, passengers will now have to pass their cell phones and other electronic devices through additional inspection before boarding planes.

The TSA said Sunday that these restrictions would only apply to some overseas airports. It also said devices that fail to power up won't be allowed on planes and that their owners might have to undergo extra screening before boarding.

It maybe recalled that last week, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson had ordered the TSA to introduce extra security measures at some international airports with direct flights to the US, based on intelligence that suggests new Al Qaeda efforts to produce a bomb that would go undetected through airport security.

Some experts have suggested such a device would be planted in a laptop or other such electronic devices.

Johnson said he and others in the Obama administration would continue to evaluate whether the increased security will be applied to US domestic flights.

The beefed up security is almost certainly a response to recent intelligence reports suggesting that Al Qaeda-linked terrorists in Syria are working with members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to blow up a commercial aircraft headed to the US or Europe, as reported first by ABC News.