U.S. security rules ban air cargo from Yemen, Somalia

WASHINGTON - New U.S. security rules are in place banning all air cargo from Yemen and Somalia and prohibiting toner and ink cartridges weighing more than one pound from passenger flights, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said yesterday.

The new rules are a direct response to the thwarted terror plot that could have taken down two cargo planes over the United States last month. Terrorists in Yemen had hidden two powerful bombs inside printer cartridges and shipped them to addresses in Chicago.

Saudi Arabia tipped off intelligence officials to the plot, providing the FedEx and UPS tracking numbers that allowed U.S. officials to pinpoint where the packages were en route.

"The threats of terrorism we face are serious and evolving, and these security measures reflect our commitment to using current intelligence to stay ahead of adversaries," Napolitano said in a statement.

The United States immediately banned cargo from Yemen after the bombs were intercepted. Other countries, including England and Germany, followed suit.

Somalia was added to the U.S. ban, despite a lack of intelligence pointing to a similar plot to detonate bombs on cargo planes, said a senior administration official. The official said the terrorist group in Somalia, al-Shabaab, has said it intends to attack the United States, just as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has stated and tried to do. - AP