Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano participates in a ground breaking on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Museum in Washington on October 14, 2010. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that ink cartridges are banned from flights after a recent failed terror attack.

The United States went on high alert last week after improvised explosive devices were discovered on international flights from freight carrier UPS.


Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said her agency, along with the Transportation Security Administration, enacted rules to protect inbound cargo as a precautionary measure.

"Following the thwarted terrorist plot last week to conceal and ship explosive devices on board aircraft bound for the U.S., the administration took a number of immediate steps to increase security by tightening existing measures related to cargo bound for the United States," she said in a statement.

Some of the new rules that take effect Monday include a ground halt on cargo from Yemen, where the latest plot surfaced.

The ban extends to Somalia, where al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab is waging war.

Napolitano said agencies also placed a ban on toner and ink cartridges weighing more than 16 ounces from all commercial planes in U.S. airspace. International mail also requires additional screening, she said.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemeni branch of the terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the latest bomb attempt using ink cartridges rigged with explosives. One of the devices was said to be within minutes of detonating.