Wired Iraqi man triggers scare at L.A. airport

Reuters ^ | 3-6-07

[STARWISE]

An Iraqi national wearing wires and concealing a magnet inside his rectum triggered a security scare at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday but officials said he posed no apparent threat.

The man, identified by law enforcement officials as Fadhel al-Maliki, 35, set off an alarm during passenger screening at the airport early on Tuesday morning.

A police bomb squad was called to examine what was deemed a suspicious item found during a body cavity search of the man. Local media reports said a magnet was found in his rectum.

"He was secreting these items in a body cavity and that was a great concern because there were also some electric wires associated with that body cavity," Larry Fetters, security director for the Transportation Security Administration at the airport, told reporters.

Maliki, 35, who lives in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was preparing to board a US Airways flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.

The flight left without Maliki but with his luggage aboard. It made an unscheduled landing in Las Vegas, where the plane was thoroughly searched but nothing was found, officials said.

Passengers were not evacuated and no flights were disrupted by the incident at Terminal One at Los Angeles airport.

"There never was a threat," Fetter said.

He said police and the FBI were called in from "an abundance of caution" because Maliki was "so bizarre in his behavior."

[Texas Mom]

Now we won't be able to take magnets and wires on board anymore.

There goes my knitting.

[Pepper777]

Thanks for the ping, Starwise.

Really scary, inspite of what the officals say. Hopefully they are tracking this guy's every move. He was up to something, that's for sure.

[Constantine XI Palaeologus]

"very American looking guy"

And what, pray tell, does an American look like? Sheesh.

Regarding the article, does anyone else feel that maybe "this was a test, this was only a test..."

Seems to me that there'd be a chance they were feeling out the detection capabilities of the airport.

Now, I don't think you'd be able to stuff enough explosives, detonators, wires, etc. up your anal cavity to bring down an airplane (I'm rather inexperienced with the process), but several guys mixing their "deposits" in the bathroom might be able to make something sufficiently powerful.

Also, I'd suspect the anal cavity would possess an "aroma" that would throw off bomb sniffing dogs.

I'm surprised we haven't caught any muslime women trying things like this. Seems like they'd be perfect candidates. And can you imagine the media hoopla if one was actually searched?

[Constantine XI Palaeologus]

Whoops, only read the first 50.

[Cementjungle]

Hopefully they are tracking this guy's every move.

Hopefully he's enjoying his "Welcome to GITMO" indoctrination right now.

[Mila]

"The flight left without Maliki but with his luggage aboard."

Considering the circumstances, I find this just a tad disconcerting. If things got as serious as a cavity search, shouldn't the luggage have been immediately removed from the plane?

[cricket]

Odd, they do not mention the 'no threat' explanation here.

Soooo; it was a 'health issue'? What???

[BuffaloJack]

Another probe.
If thet don't thoroughly check every one of these, it will be the real thing.

[BuffaloJack]

Another probe.
They should have dragged his sorry muzzie butt out to a secluded spot at the edge of the tarmack and destroyed the potential bomb with a shaped charge, just like they do with suspicious packages.

[healy61]

Fahdel Maliki went to town,
Riding on a camel.
Stuck a magnet in his ass,
and called it macaroni.

Now that is an American song.

[healy61]

I live in a small town with a large muslim population. There is a small arab store about one block from my home. I used to stop in there for a pop and the guys were always friendly. Someone new is there, and there are always about 20 guys just hanging around. I get watched, and there are none friendly. I go by at night and see about a dozen cars. I still stop in, and just walk around and get a pop. They still stare. My eyes are always peeled.

Hint about calling the FBI or Homeland Sec, get as much info upfront and write it down and fax it in advance. They are very helpful people.

[reformedliberal]

My husband works in a small (50k) Midwestern city. A couple of summers ago, the coffee place he frequented was full of what he described as "unfriendly" looking Mideastern types who would sit around and glare at any American male walking in. They were there for several weeks. Hubby is just under 6", 195 pounds and looks like he can take care of himself. He's also one of those men who is very aware of his surroundings at all times. He was having coffee and talking with another guy, who just bluntly asked these surly Mid-easterners where they were from. Reportedly, they looked nervous and mumbled "We are from Lebanon".

OTOH, he hasn't seem them since. Our local mosque is in an apartment. There isn't a large Muslim population here. There are a couple of universities and they do have a surprising number of Saudi students.

[JB in Whitefish]

'Someone new is there, and there are always about 20 guys just hanging around. I get watched, and there are none friendly. I go by at night and see about a dozen cars. I still stop in, and just walk around and get a pop. They still stare. My eyes are always peeled.

Hint about calling the FBI or Homeland Sec, get as much info upfront and write it down and fax it in advance. They are very helpful people."

I need your advice.

I have this great neighbor, Akhbar and his lovely wife. We're not real sure what she looks like because she's always wearing this thick nightgown and must get cold easily because it appears to be made from burlap.

Akhbar rides the subway to his mosque. I've seen him. Very polite....ALWAYS stands up.

Lately, he's been borrowing small household items....says he needs them for "show and tell" down at the mosque, where they've evidently got a 12 step assimilation program he attends. Oh...you know, wire clippers, stapler, ball bearings, my daughter's gerbil, the toaster, everyday American items. And, he's VERY religious....always "praising Allah".

When he brings them back, they always seem to be in good shape, but a little "greasy".

Is this just my imagination, or should I "suspect" something.....???

[starbase]

"very American looking guy"

And what, pray tell, does an American look like? Sheesh.

Listen, my FRiend, you can play that game with yourself, but you better believe NO ONE ELSE ON EARTH is playing it with you. I've just been living in Thailand, Taiwan, India, and a few other places for the last 3 years (without any return to our magnificent nation, OTOH, now I'll never leave it again) and this effort to pretend a strong white man does not equal "America" in the eyes of the world will only get yourself hurt.

I repeat, others are not at all on that wave link, and if you said "Golly, I don't know what I look like, do you?", these outsiders will just sneer evilly at your own idiocy.

I repeat a third time, they see white, they see America, they see strong, they see a noble target that they could take down to help "their race", whether that's Islam, or any one of a number of very closed, group-based Asian societies.

For your own health, you better understand what others in the world see, they are not at our level, and for that matter I have never ascribed to not knowing that all founders of our nation were white men, and through all our history the biggest players have always been white men.

Everyone should, of course, have equal opportunity today, but when outsiders want to kill an "American" they want to kill a strong looking white man, because they have history books, and they have no understanding of communist PC.

(BTW, a Russian guy on a conservative talk show once pointed out that you can be political, but that is opinion, or you can be correct about a fact, but that's a fact, however you can never be politically correct since that requires being "correct" about an "opinion", and this construct was intentionally put together that way, so as to be a meaningless control phrase.)

[Hatteras]

Hey give him a break, he didn't know it was there. His partner packed his, uh, luggage before the trip. Uh, so to speak...

[CJ Wolf]

It was one of these.

I think I'd rather site next to a guy with a bomb up his ass then this freak.

[USMCPOP]

Should have used a little Preparation-C4 and blown it in place.

Deranged dude or testing the system? Maybe both... scary.

[Titan Magroyne]

Do you mean to imply that someone probing the possibilities of bringing down a plane full of innocent infidels and probably is pretty cool with the notion of strapping bombs onto little kids has sense of shame? :o)

He's taking one for the team, that's all.

Makes me wonder about the ones who surely haven't been caught once the TSA-plane quota of "2 swarthy males" has been reached.

[sheik yerbouty]

Algore ibn Sharmuta..