US President Donald Trump has signed a travel ban on 12 mostly Middle East and African countries, reviving one of the most controversial measures from his first term that is likely to trigger a fresh wave of legal challenges.

Trump said on Wednesday the measure was spurred by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on an Egyptian man they said was in the country illegally.

The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House.

Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed.

"The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who........

© Al Monitor