A new form of bomb-making allows for clothing to be dipped into a liquid which turns the clothing itself into a bomb "once dry,"reports Rhonda Schwartz and James Gordon Meek of ABC.
The tactic, along with "franken-bombs"— improvised explosive devices sewn into the body cavity — has become a concern among the government's security specialists.
From ABC:
"It's ingenious," one of the officials said.
Another senior official said that the tactic would not be detected by current security measures.
The officials said the new technique is believed to have been developed by the Yemen-based al Qaeda affiliate al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), home to notorious alleged bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asiri. Al-Asiri is suspected of being the mastermind behind several devious explosive devices including the underwear bomb and surgically implanted body bombs.
Recent developments with Al Qaeda have the Western world a bit shook up. Nearly 2000 members of extreme militant organizations broke out of prisons in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan, prompting global warnings from intelligence agencies.
Then the Obama administration, going off undisclosed information concerning major Al Qaeda attacks, opted to shut down U.S. embassies in the North Africa and Middle East regions.
There was also a global travel warning issued for all U.S. citizens.
Security and intelligence officials told ABC that they had found more evolved forms of the underwear bomb as well, but refused to comment more. Representatives of the Transportation Security Agency reassured ABC that the "TSA screens both passengers and carry-on baggage for metallic and non-metallic prohibited items, including weapons and explosives."
The TSA has been subject of a few embarrassing security breaches in recent years.