Threat of attack to Uganda's Entebbe airport reported by US
3 July 2014, 16:37 -- The US warned its citizens in Uganda on Thursday about a 'specific threat' of an attack on Entebbe International Airport, which is near the capital Kampala, according to a message on the US Embassy website. It said information from Uganda's police indicated that the attack could take place between 9 pm and 11 pm local time on Thursday, adding that citizens planning to travel at that time might consider reviewing their arrangements.
A spokesman for Uganda's Civil Aviation Authority, Ignie Ugundura, confirmed the authority had issued an alert on Wednesday that 'informed the airport community,' but did not give details.
'The US Embassy has received information from the Uganda Police Force that according to intelligence sources there is a specific threat to attack Entebbe International Airport by an unknown terrorist group today, July 3, between the hours of 2100-2300,' the embassy message said.
The US Embassy has issued other alerts during the year about possible attacks in Uganda, which it says faces a 'continued threat.'
Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist group carried out an attack on a Nairobi shopping mall in neighbouring Kenya last year and in 2010 bombed sports bars in Uganda where people were watching the World Cup final at that time. Dozens were killed in both places.
Al Shabaab has recently warned of more attacks in Uganda and other countries which contribute forces to an African Union peacekeeping mission that is battling the Islamist group in Somalia.
US demands more security at int'l airports amid Al-Qaeda threats
US intelligence officials are concerned about a new al-Qaeda effort to create a bomb that would go undetected through airport security, prompting the US to call for tighter security measures Wednesday at some foreign airports.
The counterterrorism official declined to describe what kind of information triggered this warning. But officials in the past have raised concerns about non-metallic explosives being surgically implanted inside a traveler's body, designed to be undetectable in pat-downs or metal detectors.
The American government has been planning additional measures for the past month.
Americans and others from the West have traveled to Syria over the past year to join al Nusra Front's fight against the Syrian government. The fear is that fighters with a Western passport — and therefore subject to less stringent security screening - could carry such a bomb on board.
It wasn't clear which airports were affected by the extra security measures, but industry data show that more than 250 foreign airports offer non-stop service to the US, including Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and the United Arab Emirates' Dubai International Airport.
The call for increased security, however, was not connected to Iraq or the recent violence there.
The extra security is out of an 'abundance of caution,' an American official said.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not provide details about the reasons for the increased security.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
