U.S. Terror Alert: Explosives in Shoes

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U.S. federal authorities are telling airlines to be on the lookout for bombs concealed in shoes.

The Department of Homeland Security’s warning stems from intelligence that says terrorists could use explosives packed in shoes to take down commercial flights, according to an official. But the intelligence doesn’t point to a specific plot.

As a result of the intelligence, authorities will work with foreign governments and airlines to increase security for international flights inbound to the U.S., a federal official said. But U.S. authorities don’t plan to adjust security for domestic flights because of the threat, the official said.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

Most passengers are already required to take off their shoes when they pass through airport security. Officials first implemented that requirement in 2001 after Richard Reid tried to set off a bomb in his shoe on a flight from Paris to Miami.

According to the Wall Street Journal the Homeland Security warning about shoes comes two weeks after the department told airlines to keep an eye out for bombs smuggled in toothpaste tubes on board flights to and from Moscow. That warning was connected to terrorist threats around the Sochi Olympics.