Highlights
• Investigation into the arrests of two Egyptian students confirms a potential threat
• An inaccurate method: sending a signal by turning a toy car joystick
• Terrorists increasingly manipulate household technology and chemicals to kill
Last week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) commenced a new policy of heightening inspection efforts for air passengers traveling with remote controlled toys. TSA has started the new policy based off credible intelligence that terrorists intend to use remote-controlled toys as crude detonators for improvised explosive devices (IED). According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the intelligence highlights a potential threat but does not indicate a specific terrorist plot targeting airlines.
Although much of the credible intelligence is classified, officials have contributed a degree of this warning to the case of the two Egyptian students from the University of South Florida who were arrested in August 2007. Police discovered explosive materials in the car of Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed and Yousef Samir Megahed. After further investigation, authorities discovered that Mohamed had been previously arrested in Egypt on terrorism related charges. Mohamed had allegedly narrated and posted a video on Youtube.com that detailed how to use remote control toys as detonators for homemade explosives (Previous Report).
Aviation authorities decided to not ban toys from carry on bags or airplane cabins. If passengers, including children, do possess the toys upon security screening, TSA agents will conduct thorough searches of belongings and carry on luggage.
The new policy, although strict, is crucial to the ongoing efforts by TSA and other security agencies. As terrorists continue to manipulate and innovate ordinary household devices or consumer goods into parts for destructive weapons, such proactive measures and alerts will need to continue to be implemented.
Turning Consumer Electronics Into Weapons
Using remote-control cars, a terrorist could rig the wheels to trigger an explosion. The remote control could send a signal to a motor attached to the bomb detonator, so that when the joystick is turned and the wheels swivel, a switch completes on the circuit and the bomb is triggered. Although the tactic is crude and often inaccurate, terrorists in India and Sri Lanka have been suspected of using such methods (Source). Due to the method’s inaccuracies, TSA is also concerned that allowing passengers to take toys on board could accidentally trigger a nearby terrorist bomb, although this is not likely.
The recent warning to watch for passengers traveling with remote control toys comes as no surprise. Terrorists have long attempted to convert inexpensive, normal household consumer electronics technology and chemicals into components for homemade destruction. Insurgents in Iraq, for example, normally use six principal detection triggers for IEDs including pressure plates, cell phones, command wire, low-power radio-controlled, high power radio-controlled and passive infrared (Source). Terrorists have also attempted to convert the household items of car key fobs, wireless doorbell buzzers and garage door openers into remote detonators. However, TSA claims that car key fobs or television remotes will not be included as part of the new scrutiny policy related to remote control toys.
Manipulated Household Chemicals
In recent terrorist plots targeting transportation, terrorists have also used normal, household consumer chemicals to construct homemade explosives.
• July 7, 2005: The suicide bombers that attacked London’s underground railway system used homemade Acetone peroxide TATP based devices . The chemicals used to produce TATP include hydrogen peroxide, acetone, and a catalyst of lemon juice, all easily available at ordinary grocery or department stores. TATP is believed to be a component used in over 90 percent of peroxide-based explosives, according to media reports (Source).
• August 10, 2006: British authorities arrested 24 men involved in a planning the final stages of a terrorist plot to blow up 10 passenger airline jets leaving for Britain to the US. The plotters planned to use an MP3 music player or Cell phone to ignite an “explosive cocktail” made up of a peroxide gel like substance mixed with a sports drink (Previous Report). The plot caused TSA to temporarily ban such liquids on flights. Passengers are now allowed to carry gels, liquids and aerosols on board but only in 3-ounce containers or smaller. However, the smuggling of liquid form explosives is still a legitimate threat. TSA is currently working with the National Laboratories to develop testing devices for liquid explosives.
Staying One Step Ahead
While the latest TSA policy for remote control toys does not indicate a specific threat, TSA will continue to monitor and evaluate gathered intelligence related to possible methods for an attack. The implementation of such preventative security measures is critical for staying one step ahead of plotting terrorists and for protecting national security.
