The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) joined forces with the FBI to issue a public service announcement urging Americans to stay “alert” during the holidays, conceding that there are no “credible threats at this time.”
“DHS routinely works with federal partners as well as state and local law enforcement to assess threats, analyze trends, and disseminate intelligence to stakeholders,” Tyler Houlton, a spokesman at the department, told Breitbart News in a statement. “DHS is not aware of any specific credible threats at this time but will continue to monitor the threat environment and produce intelligence in order to inform law enforcement and operational planning efforts.”
The public service announcement comes days after DHS warned that holiday revelers are facing an “elevated threat” posed by jihadists seeking to carry out attacks on behalf of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the arrest of an individual who was planning to attack Americans in San Francisco “around the Christmas holiday,” Andrew Ames, an FBI spokesman, told Breitbart News.
Federal authorities have charged the alleged would-be jihadist with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, revealed DOJ.
In the public service announcement, Chris Krebs from DHS’s national protection and programs directorate said: “As you travel, shop, and gather together to celebrate the holiday season, we ask you to stay alert. While we are not aware of any specific, credible threats at this time, the recent attempted attack in New York is a reminder that we must remain vigilant.”
“You play a critical role in keeping our nation and our neighborhoods safe,” added Nikki Floris from the FBI counterterrorism division.
“Help us make the holidays safer,” declared David Glawe, the DHS counterterrorism coordinator. “If you see something, say something,”
Akayed Ullah, an ISIS-linked Bangladeshi national who entered the United States via chain migration, attempted to carry out a terrorist attack on the New York City subway system on December 11.
Nearly six weeks earlier, on October 31, Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old Uzbek citizen, drove a vehicle into a crowd of people celebrating Halloween in the city, killing eight people and injuring at least a dozen others in what has been described as the deadliest terrorist attack in New York since 9/11.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has vowed to deploy “hundreds” of security personnel across NYC, home to one of the biggest New Year celebrations in the world.
“This is more than we’ve done before. It’s a response to terrorist activity we’ve never seen before,” Cuomo told the New York Post, referring to security efforts. “What we’ve seen lately is these lone-wolf incidents.”
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