On Wednesday, ISIS released a propaganda video that could be warning New York City as a potential terrorist attack target. The video shows reference of Times Square, but it did not include any specific threat against the city, New York officials said.
The video posted by several sources on Wednesday runs for nearly six minutes. It mostly includes images of bombs and suicide bombers getting ready for an attack, as well as the French president Francois Hollande speaking out against ISIS. It did include images of some of New York’s most iconic locations such as Times Square, Fifth Avenue and Herald square. However, the NYPD said those images were originally published by the terrorist group early this year.
“While there is no current or specific threat to the City at this time, we will remain at a heightened state of vigilance and will continue to work with the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the entire intelligence community to keep the City of New York safe,” J. Peter Donald, NYPD director of communication said in a statement.
Since the Paris attacks las Friday night, New York City has been in a “state of high vigilance,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. The mayor also claimed that on Monday, the first wave of officers from a counterterrorism squad began patrolling the city streets. The unit, which will eventually grow to more than 500 officers, receives special training and equipment, and will be installed in different locations around the city.
This is the second video threating the United States territory. Just a few days ago, on November 16th, a video that threatened the U.S capital Washington D.C. was released.
There have been a few other threats around the world after the Paris attacks on November 13th. A stadium in Germany was evacuated on Tuesday after police found significant evidence that suggested an attack was being planned. Additionally, two planes from the United States heading to Paris also had to be diverted due to bomb threats on Tuesday.
Source: Wall Street Journal