US boosts airline security amid Al-Qaeda threat

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WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (AFP): The United States Thursday said it would step up airport security measures in response to renewed threats from Al-Qaeda in Yemen, in the wake of a failed Christmas Day bombing.
Passengers traveling to the United States will see more airport security screening and more armed air marshals on flights, Homeland Secretary Secretary Janet Napolitano said.
"We must remain vigilant about the continued threat we face from Al-Qaeda," Napolitano said. "We are taking an additional set of aviation security precautions to protect the American people.
"Some of these measures include enhanced random screening, additional federal air marshals on certain routes and adding individuals of concern to our terrorist watch list system."
The announcement follows President Barack Obama's wide-ranging security review, launched in the wake the attempted bombing of a trans-Atlantic jet on Christmas day.
Administration officials, who asked not to be named, said Thursday's measures were part of wider vigilance in the face of continued Al-Qaeda threats originating from Yemen.
The Obama administration has faced fierce criticism for intelligence failures that allowed a young Nigerian man to board the Detroit-bound airliner, allegedly armed with explosives sewn into his underwear.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (UFA), 23, has been charged with attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction on board the Northwest flight carrying 290 people from Amsterdam.
The attack is thought to have been hatched in Yemen, bringing Al-Qaeda's operations in that Arabian Gulf state into sharp focus.