Terrorist Alert In Boston
Two suspicious bags from Nigeria found on board an airplane put the security officials on high alert at the Boston Logan International Airport. The cargo hangar in which they were found had to be evacuated until the bomb squad checked the packages and declared them safe. The bags contained no explosive, but only household items that posed no threat, so the alert was lifted a few hours later. The bags were returned to the shipper, but his identity was not made public.
The law enforcement officials were alerted after a sniffer dog from the federal Transportation Security Administration trained to detect explosives sat on two duffel bags with Nigerian addresses at a Delta Airlines cargo hangar. Immediately about 75 emergency workers from Massport, State Police, TSA, and Boston EMS sorrounded the area, setting up a 300-foot security perimeter on all sides of the terminal. A FedEx aircraft near the terminal had to be moved. The State Police bomb squad was called to invesitgate the bags. After checking them thoroughly, including with X-ray scans, the agents declared that the two suspicious bags carried only fabric, including bedding and towels. But it is still unclear why the TSA dog reacted to the bags or which flight the bags were scheduled to be on.
The passangers or the filghts at the airport were not disturbed, although the Boston airport is one of the busiest in the northeast of the United States, as the evacuated cargo building was situated about a mile away from the airport’s passenger terminals. And it is about to entry one of the busiest travel time of the year, with the Thanksgiving weekend comming up. According to airport officials, over 100,000 travelers are expected at the airport on Wednesday, with even more probably coming through on Sunday and Monday.
The terrorist alert is still high in the United States after two explosive packages apparently shipped from Yemen and that were bound for several synagogues in the Chicago area were found aboard two planes in Great Britain and Dubai. The two bombs, manufactured out of printer cartridges, are supposed to have been programmed to explode over the United States. The terrorist plot was claimed by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninusla, who also threatened to assemble explosive devices in the Christmas gifts sent to the United Kingdom, United States and other European countries.
