New York City, Washington DC and Los Angeles step up security measures over New Year’s Eve terror threat
Senior US officials said the threat originated overseas but was uncorroborated and came from a single source
It mentioned New York City, the nation’s capital and the site of Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, California
President Obama was briefed on the threat before departing for Hawaii on family vacation
After Paris attacks in November, ISIS propaganda video showed images of Times Square
In New York, 6,000 officers will be on hand for tomorrow’s celebration at Times Square, including 560 members of a new counter-terrorism unit
DAILYMAIL.COM
30 December 2015
Federal and local law enforcement officials are ramping up security in New York City, Washington DC and the site of the Rose Bowl parade near Los Angeles for New Year’s Eve festivities in response to a new terrorist threat.
Senior officials familiar with the matter said that before President Barack Obama departed for Hawaii on a family vacation, he was briefed on a threat originating abroad that warned of possible attacks targeting the three major US cities.
According to the unnamed officials talking to CNN, the threat in question was based on a single source and was not corroborated.
In the aftermath of the ISIS-inspired mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, earlier this month and the attacks in Paris in November, the FBI and local police departments are not taking any chances.
On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio described security measures that were put in place to protect up to a million revelers who will ring in 2016 at Times Square as ‘more extensive than ever.’
‘I certainly understand that everyone’s concerned and I want everyone to understand and to hear that the NYPD is ready,’ De Blasio said in a local radio interview.
A total of about 6,000 officers will be on hand, including more than 500 members of the newly formed Critical Response Command who are specially trained in preventing acts of terror, the city’s police chief Bill Bratton told reporters, noting that some would be in plain clothes.
After the Paris attacks on November 13 that killed 130 people, an ISIS propaganda video showed images of Times Square and a shot of a suicide bomber.
‘This is the best prepared city in this country to stop terrorism, and people should rest assured that they will be very well protected on New Year’s Eve,’ De Blasio said.
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