A possible attack by the terror group ISIS on US soil has set a red alert in the police department after law enforcement of the country has warned that the terrorist group is plotting an attack. That attack could strike Virginia malls and shopping centers that are mainly located in Northern Virginia.
On Thursday, information was received regarding the plot that, “we received information concerning potential public safety impacts to malls and shopping centers across the region,” according to the Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis who highlighted this at a press conference Friday afternoon.
Kevin Davis did not mention the type of attack that is being planned or the warning threats received from ISIS beyond calling it ‘information that we have that we’re simply acting on’.
But, according to news sources, it was reported that the threat and warning that originated with ISIS has led the police department to put the situation on high alert.
Police vans and cruisers can be observed on Friday patrolling the area around the Fair Oaks Mall, which is mainly located outside of Washington, Dc.
‘Sometimes the information we receive is not with great specificity but we have to respond to it nonetheless,’ Davis explained.
We have increased our police presence throughout the county to include major thoroughfares, transit hubs, shopping plazas and shopping malls,’ he said, adding: ‘It’s just our responsibility to have a greater presence, to be more aware and to ask the community to have their eyes and ears peeled for suspicious activities.’
He further added that Halloween is just around the corner and Virginia Malls are loaded with people but we cannot panic them.
According to a news source, the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence chief John Cohen said earlier this week that America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30 has sparked rage among the terrorist group and wants those individuals to act on their own and make their way to lone-wolf attacks.
‘Right now we’re seeing a dramatic increase – or an increase – in online activity by media operations associated with different al Qaeda elements and Islamic State,’ Cohen said.
‘I think the intelligence community currently assesses that both ISIS-K and Al Qaeda have the intent to conduct external operations, including against the United States, but neither currently has the capability to do so,’ the Under Secretary of Defense told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
‘We could see ISIS-K generate that capability in somewhere between six or 12 months. I think the current assessments by the intelligence community as Al Qaeda would take a year or two to reconstitute that capability,‘ Kahl added.
In response to these threats, Joe Biden has promised that we will keep ourselves over the horizon and will be using drone strikes to limit the terrorist threats to the country.
