WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. officials have issued an alert for a new shoe-bomb threat to flights entering the country, NBC News reported.
The Department of Homeland Security told airlines Wednesday about the potential new threat and urged them to pay strict attention to flights into the United States.
Unnamed officials with knowledge of the advisory told NBC News credible, "very recent intelligence" alerts airlines of possible attempts to attack passenger jets using explosives concealed in shoes.
The report said airlines will be playing extra attention to passenger shoes on flights to the United States from overseas, and passengers may also experience increased scrutiny.
NBC said the threat bulletin urges screeners to use explosive trace detection swabs on shoes that are worn and or carried in carry-on bags.
Though the threat was credible, officials told the network it was not specific to any particular airline, country or time, or evidence of a specific plot.
In an earlier case, Richard Reid pleaded guilty to boarding a flight from Paris to Miami in 2001 and unsuccessfully trying to ignite explosives in his shoes. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison with no chance of parole.
