U.S. government issues shoe-bomb advisory to airlines

The U.S. federal government has issued a new advisory to airlines, warning of potential threats of bombs hidden in shoes on flights bound for the United States from overseas.

The Department of Homeland Security has warned airlines of the potential new security threat based on "very recent intelligence" considered credible, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing several officials familiar with the latest advisory as saying.

The intelligence warned of possible attempts to attack passenger jets using explosives concealed in shoes, said the official, who stressed that the intelligence of the potential threat, which was not specific in terms of any particular airline, country, time or plot, is unrelated to the Sochi Winter Olympics of Russia.

As airlines will pay extra attention to passenger shoes on inbound flights to the U.S. from overseas, passengers on those flights may subject to increased scrutiny in pat downs and full- body screening, said the report.