Re: pakistani women in USA 'liquid bomb' plot
18 Aug, 2006 1238hrs ISTAP ]
CEREDO (WEST VIRGINIA): A Pakistani woman whose daughter's
carry-on luggage caused an airport to shut down for 9 1/2 hours says it was
her ethnic background, not a few bottles of suspicious liquids that set off
security officials.
Initial laboratory testing by the FBI turned up no evidence of
explosive materials in the bottles carried at Tri-State Airport in West
Virginia by Rima Qayyum, a 28-year-old Pakistani woman dressed in the
traditional Islamic headcover.
No charges were filed against the woman, who was never detained
and was cooperative when interviewed by the FBI.
Qayyum's mother, Mian Qayyum of Jackson, Michigan, said that her
daughter is four months pregnant, lives in Barboursville and is innocent.
"It was not only a false alarm, it was racial discrimination
because there was nothing," Mian Qayyum said. "They should clear her name
and apologise on national TV."
The FBI did not return messages on Thursday night seeking
comment on the allegations.
A screener noticed a bottle in Rima Qayyum's carry-on bag as she
was going through security before her 9:15 am flight on Thursday to
Charlotte, North Carolina, airport authority president Jim Booton said.
The terminal was evacuated at 11:25 am after two bottles of
liquid in the bag initially tested positive for explosives residue twice,
and a canine team also got a positive hit.
Chemical tests of the bottles' contents later turned up no
explosives, said Capt. Jack Chambers, head of the State Police Special
Operations unit.