TerrorismDHS warns airlines of renewed shoe-bomb risk
DHS has alerted airlines flying to the United States to the possibility that terrorists might try to bring explosives n board in their shoes. The airlines were told that there were no specific plots, and that the information was based on information collected in the United States and abroad that bomb makers affiliated with terrorist groups were working on a shoe-bomb design. Hiding explosives in shoes is not new. In December 2001, passengers aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami prevented a U.K. citizen, Richard Reid, from detonating explosives hidden in his sneakers.
DHS has alerted airlines flying to the United States to the possibility that terrorists might try to bring explosives n board in their shoes. The airlines were told that there were no specific plots, and that the information was based on information collected in the United States and abroad that bomb makers affiliated with terrorist groups were working on a shoe-bomb design.
An airline industry source said the DHS warning listed 25 to 30 cities overseas, all with nonstop flights to the United States. Johannesburg, Paris, London, and Cairo, as well as some cities in the Middle East, were on the list.
The alerts advised carriers that there would be increased scrutiny of people who appear on the TSA’s “selectee list,” which includes people deemed suspicious who could require additional screening, as well as randomly picked passengers.
CNN reports that a separate intelligence official stressed that the warning was issued out of a sense of heightened caution.
“This threat is not specific or credible enough to require a specific response. DHS often issues these alerts out of an abundance of caution, but this does not necessarily rise to the level of facilitating a response,” the intelligence official said.
Another official told CNN that there is no specific threat and said there is already some puzzlement about why DHS issued the warning.
Yet another intelligence source said the DHS warming to the airlines went beyond a concern about explosives in shoes to include cosmetics and liquids.
This official noted that the new alert is not related to recent warnings, issued on the eve of the opening of the Winter Olympics, about explosives hidden in toothpaste and cosmetic tubes on flights to Russia.
Hiding explosives in shoes is not new. In December 2001, passengers aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami prevented a U.K. citizen, Richard Reid, from detonating explosives hidden in his sneakers. Reid is serving a life sentence.
CNN notes TSA already X-rays shoes, but that travelers may notice additional searches, including swabs to detect explosives.
One official told the network that there are “seen and unseen” measures TSA can take for security and additional scrutiny.
