TSA: Cargo From 5 Muslim-Majority Countries to Require Stricter Screening

The Transport Security Administration announced Monday that cargo plans leaving from five countries in the Middle East that are mostly Muslim will require stricter screening procedures, CBS News reports.

Airports in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which last year were among the countries included in the "laptop ban" that prohibited passengers from bringing electronics larger than a cell phone into the cabin, will have to follow Air Cargo Advanced Screening to thoroughly examine all cargo.

"These countries were chosen because of a demonstrated intent by terrorist groups to attack aviation from them," an unnamed TSA official "familiar with the order" told CBS. "This is all intel driven."

TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement to CBS News:

"In close coordination with CBP, I directed specific carriers to implement strict security requirements based upon recent information that established a need to implement additional security measures for air cargo bound to the United States, on both passenger and cargo aircraft."

Another unnamed TSA official added: "We haven't necessarily seen anything 'brand new' in terms of a new threat but we are seeing things and want to stay ahead of the threat that we've seen over the past nine months or so. There's enough out there, enough threat streams, that give us enough concern that we need to move forward with this as quickly as possible," said a TSA official familiar with the current threat intelligence.

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