|
State
department,
governors
guard
for
terror
threat
ahead of
July 4
By
Eugene
Scott
and
Elise
Labott
CNN
WASHINGTON
-
Leaders
at home
and
abroad
are
taking
steps to
increase
security
and
surveillance
ahead of
the July
4
holiday,
following
a
warning
from
security
officials
that
such
gatherings
could be
targets
of a
terror
threat.
New York
Gov.
Andrew
Cuomo is
following
fellow
state
and city
executives
Friday
in
announcing
increased
security
efforts
in his
state.
Cuomo
said he
directed
the
Division
of
Homeland
Security
and
Emergency
Services
Office
of
Emergency
Management
to
enhance
monitoring
of
celebrations
and
events
on July
4.
"We are
keenly
aware
that New
York
State
remains
a top
target
for
terrorists,"
the
governor
said.
"As we
celebrate
with
family
and
friends
this
Independence
Day, I
urge all
New
Yorkers
to not
only
remember
the
freedoms
that we
hold
dear,
but also
remain
cautious
of their
surroundings
and
learn to
recognize
and
report
suspicious
activity."
In the
release,
Cuomo
said New
York
state
will
increase
monitoring
and
communication
with
local,
state
and
federal
emergency
management
and law
enforcement
partners
in
response
to a
federal
government
warning.
The
State
Department
also
sent
instructions
to all
its
diplomatic
posts
worldwide
to
review
their
security
before
the July
4
holiday
weekend,
a senior
State
Department
official
told
CNN.
This
alert
was sent
out to
posts a
few
weeks
ago as
standard
operating
procedure
before a
holiday.
The note
called
for all
embassies
and
consulates
to
convene
a
meeting
of their
security
teams,
called
an
Emergency
Action
Committee,
to
assess
their
current
security
posture
and
determine
whether
any
additional
measures
needed
to be
taken
ahead of
the
holiday,
the
official
said.
The
official
said
there
has been
a
drumbeat
of
intelligence
chatter
about
terrorist
threats
as the
weekend
approaches,
but
nothing
credible
or
specific.
"This is
consistent
with a
holiday
of this
nature,
but
there
has been
nothing
that is
causing
massive
canceling
of
events,"
the
official
said.
Most of
the high
threat
posts in
the
Middle
East
held
their
July 4
celebrations
last
month
because
the
Muslim
holy
month of
Ramadan
fell
early
this
year. In
other
countries
where
the heat
is
particularly
punishing
during
July,
embassies
and
consulates
have
begun to
hold
their
national
celebration
on
Presidents
Day.
The
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation
and the
U.S.
Department
of
Homeland
Security
issued
recent
terror
guidance,
citing
the July
4
holiday
specifically
as a
target.
As a
result,
the
Governor
also
urged
New
Yorkers
to be
alert to
any
potential
suspicious
activity
over the
holiday
weekend.
U.S.
intelligence
and
security
agencies
also
cited
several
upcoming
Prophet
Mohammed
drawing
events,
which
could
invite
terrorist
attacks.
Across
the
country,
U.S.
police
departments
are
heightening
their
security
to
combat
threats,
including
some
proposed
by
suspected
supporters
of ISIS
who live
in the
states.
The city
of New
York and
Los
Angeles
had
already
announced
taking
increased
steps in
security. |