Silent-but-deadly jihad: Al-Qaeda increasing use of suppository bombs

(Analyst's note:  Troubling.  How about simply running everyone through a bomb proof booth that is saturated with phone frequencies.  We might need more than one booth - giving us time to hose out those "caught in the act" of jihad.  Just a thought ... )

from Jihad Watch

No, we didn't get this story from The Onion. But the humorous potential is tempered by the fact that this tactic is already precipitating yet another wave of costly, inconvenient, and possibly even unhealthful security measures for travelers, as security agencies ponder the inclusion of full-body X-Rays at security checkpoints to catch devices such as these, as well as possible surgically implanted bombs.
"France: Daily reports Al-Qaeda 'suppository bomb'," from AdnKronos International, October 6 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

Paris, 6 October (AKI) - Al-Qaeda-linked suicide bombers are now using 'suppository bombs' to evade stringent security checks at airports and elsewhere, according to a report in French daily Le Figaro. The paper cites information from France's newly formed DCRI anti-terrorist services.

The devices are undetectable and were used in an assassination attempt in Saudi Arabia in late August, according to DCRI.

The target of the attack, prince Mohammed bin Nayef, son of the Saudi interior minister, suffered only minor injuries when his attacker, wanted Islamist Abul Khair detonated the bomb using a mobile phone. The attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda.

"Khair either swallowed the explosives or inserted them as a suppository," said senior French interior ministry official, quoted by Le Figaro.

The officials said palace security guards in Saudi Arabia had failed to remove Khair's mobile phone.

Security officials worldwide are now considering how to tackle the new threat.

Only X-ray's would have been able to detect the 'suppository bomb' device, but these are not being considered for general security controls, according to officials.

X-ray's are not used for general security scanning due to radiation risks as well cost.

One solution could be to detect and remove the cell phones needed to detonate the 'explosive suppositories', according to a police scientific expert quoted by Le Figaro.

More on potential security measures: "Travellers to Europe face full body X-rays after Al Qaeda suicide bombers ploy to hide devices INSIDE their bodies," from the Daily Mail, October 6:

Travellers to Europe face being treated like drug smugglers as security chiefs are expected to recommend new intrusive security measures.

French anti-terror chiefs are expected to propose the new measures, such as full body X-rays or handing in all electronic devices, after a terrorist tried to kill a Saudi prince with a bomb he had inserted into his body.

Al Qaeda's latest ploy was first pioneered by Abdullah Hassan al Asiri, who blew himself apart in Jeddah in late August in an attack on Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi anti-terrorism chief.

The 23-year-old terrorist blew himself into 70 pieces when he detonated the bomb - inserted into his rectum - with a mobile phone.

His body was said to have absorbed some of the impact of the explosion, however, leaving the prince only slightly injured.

However experts claimed such a blast would be catastrophic in the pressurised atmosphere of a passenger jet.

Now President Nicolas Sarkozy's new domestic intelligence directorate (DCRI) is considering draconian measures, police commanders told Le Figaro newspaper.

But some in the government are already slamming measures that would leave passengers being treated as drug smugglers.

'It is unthinkable when you think about the frequency with which some people fly,' a senior Interior Ministry official told Le Figaro. 'The health risks would be too high.'...