Rabat (AFP) – Morocco said Monday it will tighten security measures for US-bound flights from Casablanca at Washington’s request, amid fears in the United States that Islamist militants could be planning new attacks.
The measures will come into force on Tuesday following a request from the US Transportation Security Administration, the Moroccan transport ministry said, cited by official media.
The measures will affect flights to the United States from Casablanca’s Mohammed V airport, Morocco’s largest, and from where all its trans-Atlantic flights depart.
These include daily flights to New York’s JFK airport.
US-bound travellers from Europe and the Middle East have faced tighter airport security in recent days over fears that Al-Qaeda-linked militants are developing new explosives that could be slipped on board aircraft undetected.
Last Wednesday, American officials publicly demanded enhanced security for airports in Europe and the Middle East with direct flights to the United States.
They did not confirm whether they had intelligence about a specific plot, but their actions suggested alarm.
Western intelligence services say hundreds of militants travelling from Europe to fight in Syria and Iraq could pose a security risk on their return.
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