Airport security ramped up over US bomb fears

In this 2012 photo, armed police officers walk in front of the arrival gate at Heathrow airport, west of London. Britain has bolstered security at its airports in what leaders said was the correct response following US alarm that extremist Islamic groups might have developed new explosives for attacks. AFP Photo

US-bound travellers from Europe and the Middle East faced tighter airport security Thursday due to fears that Muslim extremists are developing new explosives that could be slipped onto planes undetected.

The stepped-up security checks were ordered as the US embassy in Uganda warned of a "specific threat" to attack Kampala's Entebbe international airport on Thursday between 1800 and 2000 GMT.

Although the embassy did not name any group, Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents have claimed recent attacks in neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti, and at home in Somalia.

US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the extra security on direct flights to the United States from some overseas airports on Wednesday, without citing evidence of any specific plot.

The move comes amid broader Western intelligence concerns that hundreds of Islamist radicals travelling from Europe to fight in the Middle East could pose a security risk on their return.

On Sunday, US President Barack Obama warned that "battle-hardened" Europeans who embrace jihad in Syria and Iraq threaten the United States because their passports mean they can enter without a visa.

The airports concerned are located in the Middle East and Europe and were targeted "based on real-time intelligence", according to an official at the Department of Homeland Security who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Britain confirmed it is bolstering security at its airports in response.

Analysts said the move was likely linked to concerns Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was passing on bombmaking expertise to militants fighting in...