News

Terror Concerns Have Amped Up

by Kate Ward

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will increase security at federal buildings because of terror concerns. According to a statement released by the DHS, the surge in police presence has nothing to do with a specific immediate threat, but merely because the U.S. has been consistently the subject of threats from terrorist organizations. As Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement:

The reasons for this action are self-evident: the continued public calls by terrorist organizations for attacks on the homeland and elsewhere, including against law enforcement and other government officials, and the acts of violence targeted at government personnel and installations in Canada and elsewhere recently. Given world events, prudence dictates a heightened vigilance int the protection of the U.S. government installations and our personnel.

The statement is referencing the shooting near Canada's parliament last week, when a religious radical opened fire, killing a soldier. Not to mention the repeated threats from ISIS, which released a video earlier Tuesday pointing to the extremist group's rapid expansion. As another U.S. official noted:

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the Nusrah Front have both publicly threatened to retaliate against the West. We are taking all necessary measures to protect U.S. interests overseas and at home.

Johnson insisted that the move was merely "precautionary," and security measures will be tweaked and improved as the DHS continues to evaluate the threats.

As for the locations that the Department of Homeland Security is most worried about? It's not saying. All we know is that Washington is increasing its police presence, and the DHS plans to do the same in unidentified buildings in other major U.S. cities.

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