My Syrian Cell Phone

In most countries I purchase a pre-paid sim card for my cell phone. This gives me a local number for safety, logistics and keeping in touch with local friends. Generally these cares are simply purchased - hand over the money, hand over the card. Just like chewing gum. I was a little bit shocked to find that Syria's MTN network required a copy of my passport and Syrian Visa as well as my fingerprints! Upon further investigation, turns out that many bombs in Syria are detonated remotely with cell phones. This is one card I won't be giving to someone as I exit the country. Yikes!