The US government is warning airlines that fly to Russia to beware of terrorists who might try to smuggle bomb-making explosives aboard planes in toothpaste tubes or cosmetics containers, it was reported Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security said there was no information about a “specific threat.”
A senior American official said the warning was based on “very new” intelligence and the concern was limited to flights originating outside the United States and headed to Russia, NBC News said.
Anti-terror experts fear explosives smuggled in tubes and containers and carried aboard in luggage could be assembled into a bomb when the plane is in flight.
No source of the intelligence or time frame for when an attack could occur was disclosed, according to NBC.
That network and CBS said explosives could be smuggled in toothpaste tubes, but CNN said US officials are also warning about cosmetics containers.
An anti-terror official told CBS that toothpaste tubes could be innocent-looking explosives containers “just like printer cartridges or a shoe.”
“This may be the new hot item,” the official said.
The possibility of shoes being used as a terrorist weapon seemed remote before Richard Reid tried to detonate 100 pounds of plastic explosives in his shoes in December 2001 on a Paris-Miami flight.
Asked if the intelligence could prompt new restrictions in carry-on luggage, the senior official told NBC. “That’s not up to us. That would be up to airlines and authorities overseas.”
Russia has suffered three suicide bombings in the last three months, and terrorists have called for attacks to disrupt the Winter Olympics, which begin Friday in the city of Sochi.
Last month, Russia banned liquids on all planes headed to Sochi.
The US currently has regulations banning passengers from bringing on board any containers with more than three fluid ounces of any liquid or gel. That includes toothpaste tubes.
In a statement Wednesday, Homeland Security downplayed the danger. “Out of an abundance of caution, [the department] regularly shares relevant information with domestic and international partners,” it said.