Washington ( CNN ) -- Terrorists intent on striking commercial aircraft have shown renewed interest in surgically implanting explosives in humans to circumvent airport security , a U.S. security official tells CNN . The idea of implanting bombs has been discussed in the past , but the United States has obtained fresh intelligence about the desire of terrorists to implant devices , according to the official . Another U.S. official said Ibrahim Hasan al-Asiri , the top bomb maker for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP ) , is suspected of being behind the latest efforts . `` He 's AQAP 's bomb guy , '' said the official . Asiri is also believed to be behind the thwarted 2009 Christmas day `` underwear '' bomb , the failed October 2010 cargo plane bomb and an attempt to kill a Saudi prince using a concealed bomb . Both officials said there is no specific or imminent threat . But the new intelligence prompted officials last week to brief international airlines and U.S. allies overseas , a Transportation Security Administration spokesman said . `` We are treating this information seriously , and as a precautionary matter , sharing it with our colleagues overseas and of course U.S. carriers who travel overseas , '' TSA Administrator John Pistole told CNN . `` We see this as the latest iteration or the evolution of what terrorist groups are trying to do to circumvent our security layers and to perhaps defeat our societal norms , '' he said . `` The information is that terrorists are aware of this type of technique and interested in using it , but there is no specific threat as to a date and time and a specific flight , '' he said . The TSA said full-body scanners can not see underneath skin , but said other `` overlapping layers of security '' could help officials deter any plot involving a human bomb . Those layers include intelligence information about possible plots , equipment that checks for minute traces of explosives , behavior detection officers and canine teams . `` All of those layers of security gives us the strongest defense and the best opportunity to detect and deter this from happening , '' Pistole said Wednesday . TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball said passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures in place . Measures may include interaction with passengers , in addition to the use of other screening methods such as pat-downs and the use of enhanced tools and technologies , Kimball said . `` These measures are designed to be unpredictable , so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport , '' Kimball said . A trauma surgeon contacted by CNN said terrorists could use a variety of techniques to conceal bombs in a human , ranging from crude surgery that would likely result in infections , fever and other complications , to more sophisticated procedures that would take greater skill , but could last a long time before causing problems . Terrorists could replicate a cosmetic device , such as a breast or buttock implant , said Dr. Jack Sava , of the Washington Hospital Center . `` In many types of infections after surgery , there can be a kind of honeymoon period of a few days . But once you get several days after the operation , I think that 's when you 'd start to see signs that would begin with pain and fever . That would get worse and worse , and ultimately be fatal if nothing were done , '' he said . An aviation security consultant said news of terrorists ' interest in implants shows the `` continuous competition between terrorists and the defenders , where we always try to be one step ahead , and they try to do the same . '' `` I think we have come to the point where our technology capabilities have been exhausted to the limit , and right now there 's no further technology that can be applied to mitigate this kind of risk , '' said consultant Rafi Ron . The TSA does not have the option of subjecting people to medical doses of X-rays to find concealed objects , he said . `` So we are very much now one step behind ( terrorists ) , rather than one step ahead . '' Ron said the TSA is right to focus more attention on airline passengers , instead of on the bags they carry . A person with an implant bomb would likely exhibit signs of stress that could be detected by trained personnel , Ron said . `` One thing obviously is an elevated level of stress , and in ( the case of a human bomb ) it would probably be extreme , '' Ron said . `` You may also see some influence of drugs to ease pain . '' CNN Correspondent Brian Todd , National Security Producer Pam Benson and Producer Dugald McConnell contributed to this report .
An official says al Qaeda bombmaker Ibrahim Asiri is behind the latest efforts . Security official says terrorists have shown renewed interest in implanting explosives . Airlines and overseas allies were briefed last week . Passengers flying from international locations to the U.S. may notice additional security .