Officials Warn of "Body Bombs" on Bin Laden Anniversary

On the one-year anniversary of Osama Bin Laden's death ABC News brings us word of the latest terrorism fear: "Body bombs," explosives that are surgically inserted inside the body and have no metal parts, potentially allowing a terrorist to sneak past airport security undetected.

Unnamed U.S. and European officials told the network Tuesday of the new fear, claiming that they are concerned that al-Qaida may soon try to use such a plot to take down a U.S.-bound flight. As a result, the officials say that they have beefed up security at several airports in the U.K., as well as in Europe and the Middle East, and have shifted additional air marshals overseas.

ABC reports that authorities have publicly warned that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qaida’s Yemeni affiliate, has been developing the body bombs with the help of Saudi national Ibrahim al-Asiri.

Al-Asiri is thought to have surgically implanted a bomb inside the rectal cavity of his 23-year-old brother, who then attempted to assassinate the Saudi Arabian intelligence chief in 2009. Officials say that the bomb exploded prematurely, killing only al-Asiri’s brother. The "underwear bomb" that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on a Christmas flight back in 2009 is also thought to be the work of al-Asiri, as well as the printer bombs in the 2010 failed cargo ship bombing attempt, according to the report.

U.S. officials have said publicly that there is no credible information indicating an impending attack. Still, American authorities are on edge Tuesday, which marks the one-year anniversary of President Obama's announcement that U.S. forces had killed the 9/11 mastermind.

You can read the full ABC News report here.