The recently introduced rule that prohibits some electronics devices from passenger cabins on flights originating from certain countries was prompted, among other reasons, by a plot to hide explosives in a fake iPad.

According to a Guardian report, which cites a security source, there was more than one reason why the laptop ban — as it's often called — was introduced in the U.S. and the UK last week. But a plot that aimed to bring down a plane with a fake iPad stuffed with explosives sparked fears that Islamist extremists have found a new way to bring explosives on board.

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The report, which offers no other details about the iPad plot, sheds light on the measure that allows laptops and tablets in checked luggage, but not in carry-on luggage, which is the opposite of what some airlines normally demand. A terrorist could cause much more damage by detonating a bomb inside the passenger cabin than in the cargo bin.

The news follows last week's CNN report which claimed that the ban was prompted by the discovery that an al-Qaeda affiliate was working on techniques to hide explosives in batteries and battery compartments of electronic devices. The New York Times published a similar report, claiming that that Islamic State was to blame.

The electronics ban prohibits passengers arriving to the U.S. from certain airports in eight countries — Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — to bring electronic devices larger than a smartphone to the passenger cabin. The ban includes devices such as laptops, tablets, e-readers, cameras and even electronic game units (provided they're larger than a smartphone).

In the UK, the similarly worded ban applies to six countries only: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey.

Hiding a bomb that's powerful enough to seriously damage the plane inside of an iPad is possible. In February 2016, a terrorist blew a hole in the side of a Somalian airplane with a bomb hidden inside a laptop; but the blast wasn't powerful enough to kill anyone but the bomber himself.