HOMELAND SECURITY? US bans larger electronic devices on some flights from Middle East.

US authorities have secretly required airlines from eight nations to forbid passengers from carrying any electronic or electrical device larger than a cellphone.

The new edict was distributed in an email described as “confidential” from the US transportation safety administration (TSA) on Monday.

The requirement forbids passengers from bringing laptops, iPads, Kindles and even cameras larger than mobile phones into the cabin. All such devices must be checked.

Saudi Arabia’s Saudia Airlines and Royal Jordanian airlines are among the affected countries; the full list had not been revealed to the affected airlines themselves until a press briefing by the US department of Homeland Security on Monday evening.

The ban is techincally related to ten airports in eight countries:

Queen Alia in Jordan
Cairo International in Egypt
Ataturk International in Turkey
King Abudlaziz and King Khalid in Saudi Arabia
Kuwait International in Kuwait, Mohammaed V in Morocco
Doha International in Qatar
Dubai international and Abu Dhabi international in the United Arab Emirates.

Royal Jordanian airline tweeted the new rule yesterday, but the English was broken (and the tweet since deleted) so that didn’t seem like a trustworthy source for a new DHS rule. And DHS would neither confirm nor deny, per this Guardian report. Nevertheless, “Compliance has been swift” and an official announcement is expected later today.