President Barack Obama yesterday ordered an urgent review of how US authorities use terrorist watch-lists to foil attacks on US targets after a Nigerian tried to destroy a transatlantic passenger aircraft with an explosive device he smuggled on board.
Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, undergoing treatment for burns sustained in Friday's abortive attempt on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, figured on a US database of people with suspected terrorist connections but had not been added to a 4,000-name no-fly list. He has been charged with trying to blow up the airliner as it was coming in to land.
Transatlantic air travellers faced delays yesterday after the US stepped up security requirements for all in-bound aircraft.