US expands security at military bases amid ISIL terror threat
The US Department of Defense has increased security at US military bases across the country as a precaution after the FBI warned that Americans with ties to the ISIL terrorist group could target troops or police officers.
Admiral William Gortney, the head of US Northern Command, ordered the heightened alert to make sure troops have a "greater awareness and vigilance out in the field" for potential security risks, a Pentagon official told AFP on Friday.
"We want to make sure they're taking extra care guarding installations and our people," the official said.
The move came after a new assessment by the FBI indicating that the influence of ISIL is increasing across the United States and that the terror network could soon execute a 9/11-style attack in the country.
FBI Director James Comey said Thursday there are "hundreds, maybe thousands" of Americans who are receiving recruitment proposals from ISIL or directives to attack the US.
Comey said ISIL is exploiting social media in unprecedented ways through Twitter and other sites to push people to launch assaults on US targets.
“It's like the devil sitting on their shoulders, saying ‘kill, kill, kill’,” he said in a meeting with reporters. "It's recruiting and tasking at the same time. The old distinction between inspiration and direction is no longer relevant."
The FBI is currently investigating whether ISIL had any connections to two gunmen who attacked an anti-Islam event in Garland, Texas on Sunday.
There have been several examples of Americans being inspired by ISIL to plan terrorist attacks on American soil in recent months.
US officials have previously warned the public and law enforcement agencies across the country about young Americans wanting to join the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
The ISIL terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.
AHT/HRJ
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