New advisory says use of female suicide bombers gains exposure for terrorists

WASHINGTON (CNN) - While most suicide bombers around the world have been men, the use of women is gaining terrorists more attention and they see the use of them as an effective means to thwart security, concludes a new FBI-DHS security assessment obtained by CNN.

The assessment, sent out to law enforcement throughout the nation Monday, says the agencies "have no specific, credible intelligence indicating that terrorist organizations intend to utilize female suicide bombers against targets in the homeland."

It points out that women have been reported as attackers in Chechnya, India, Iraq, Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Officials want to make sure security officers are alert to the possibility of women being used and to familiarize themselves with behavior patterns used by such attackers in the past.

–From CNN Senior Producer Kevin Bohn and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve