Al Qaeda has apparently come up with an innovation in the art and science of homicide: presenting himself as a "repentant militant", a guy named al-Asiri got close to Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, head of Saudi Arabia's counter terrorism operations.
The homicider was able to evade security systems because a pound of high-explosives and a detonator were stuffed into his rectum. A text message sent by cell-phone acted as a trigger , blasting him to smithereens and lightly injuring the prince. While CBS makes a big deal out of the technique, Lewis Page, an "improvised-device disposal operator tasked in support of the UK mainland police from 2001-2004," pointed outthat this isn't much of a threat for three reasons: 1) you can't stuff a lot of explosives into a body cavity, 2) detonation is, um, problematic, and 3) the human body can stifle an explosion pretty effectively (think of someone throwing himself on a grenade to save his friends).
Nonetheless, you can expect the TSA to come up with some additional, deeply probing approaches to security at the airport.
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