i think we are talking about an announcement not from tsa but from homeland security, of course, tsa is part of homeland security. it s the homeland security s job to coordinate with overseas airports and governments and as you know, the white house announced after this metrojet crash they are reviewing security at overseas airports for those flights inbound. what does this mean? a short time ago i talked to the former chief of the tsa. homeland security and tsa specifically have the responsibility for assessing 275 airports around the world. there s dozens of tsa locations around the world, hundreds of people who do just that, work with host country and the airport authorities there for any airlines that fly directly to the u.s. to do audits, inspections. they will look at the actual check point, they will look at the vetting of the employees, they will look at perimeter security, the catering. they will look at really soup to nuts in terms of what goes on at that airport.
i think there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board and we re taking that very seriously. this, as a u.s. official tells cnn there had been chatter about bomb capabilities prior to the crash and after the crash, an official telling cnn, isis terrorists were bragging about the crash and having specific conversations about the bomb s origin. leading intelligence experts to believe a bomb took down 9268. an insider suggests that a bomb was placed on the plane. the government has halted all flights in and out of the resort. thousands of tourists are stuck. tomorrow, private jets will be taking the tourists home but there will be no luggage in the plane s cargo hold. pamela brown is outfront.
these are chilling messages that you ve heard were intercepted sf. that s right. and the intelligence is inconclusive, i want to point that out, but it s enough to cause widespread concern among u.s. officials, including president obama, as we just heard, that a bomb was planted on that plane and isis could be behind it. reporter: tonight, u.s. intelligence officials say specific chatter from the isis affiliate in the sinai peninsula following the crash is leading american officials to suspect a bomb may be responsible for bringing down the plane. obviously there s a consensus building around the world that there was explosives and if there was, isis would be a prime candidate. reporter: intelligent sources tell cnn terrorists boasted messages about planting a bomb on the plane but officials caution the chatter alone is not definitive evidence. the chatter is not fool-proof and could be used in ways to
reporter: anthony says the severity of a bomb on a plane depends on many factors like timing and placement, and there isn t always visible proof. is it possible that an explosive can go off on a plane and there be no residue? it s possible that there could be no residue left. here s why. look at the wreckage from the metrojet crash. much of it consumed by fire. if you have melting aircraft, parts melting aluminum, it s mixing with the other parts that it could easily disguise any evidence of an ied. anthony said it s critical to have forensic proof in an aviation investigation, and only a lab could sift out evidence from this. but just as important, piecing together clues beyond the wreckage, knowing when and who may have placed an explosive device aboard the plane. there are so many electronics that we can buy off the shelf
clearly security has been hyped up a bit. the horse is out of the barn at this point. it s questionable whether it will be able to receive tourism and tourists at the level it about in the past. as far as egyptian officials reacting to the suggestions by american officials that perhaps there was a bomb on board the aircraft, we did hear from a spokesman for the egyptian president in london at the moment saying we should not get ahead of ourselves when it comes to the results of the investigation. one final note, this morning, on the front page of the newspaper in cairo, there is no mention of the metrojet crash in any form. it appears the egyptians are remaining mum on suggestions there may have been a bomb on the aircraft. fascinating. thanks.