US to call for tighter security at foreign airports: Report

Passengers at Los Angeles International Airport in 2013. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The US Department of Homeland Security is expected to call for tighter security, possibly as soon as Friday (Nov 6), at certain foreign airports that have direct flights to the United States, ABC News reported, citing aviation and government officials.

In addition to those requests, security measures under discussion include better baggage screening at major domestic US airports, potentially including matching luggage to manifest lists before takeoff, the television network said on Thursday, quoting the officials.

President Barack Obama said earlier that he believed there was a "possibility" that a bomb may have brought down a Russian airliner in Egypt on Saturday, killing more than 200 people.

"We know that the procedures we have here in the United States are different than some of the procedures that exist for inbound and outbound flights there," Obama told CBS News affiliate KIRO Radio.

The US Department of Homeland Security said it had no announcements to make for now in response to a request for comment on the report.

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