Michael McCaul warns of terror attacks during July 4 events
House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul says Americans must remain alert to possible terrorist attacks during Independence Day celebrations next weekend.
The Texas Republican said there has been an uptick in “chatter” on social media indicating that terrorists might be planning a strike over the July 4 holiday.
"It is concerning," McCaul said on Fox News Sunday. "There is a great deal of chatter, a high volume."
The lawmaker said while people should enjoy their parades and other events, they should “remain vigilant during these celebrations.”
McCaul warned that ISIL terrorists are using the Internet “at lightning speeds” to recruit “thousands” of followers in the United States to carry out lone-wolf attacks against “military installations, law enforcement or possibly a Fourth of July event parade."
“This is a new generation of terrorists using the Internet in a very savvy way to attack the West and also get in the homes and in the basements in the United States to radicalize individuals and then call them up as sleeper cells to attack Americans,” he elaborated.
McCaul’s comments came after nearly 40 people were killed at a seaside resort in Tunisia, a man was beheaded at a factory in France, and a bomb blast killed at least two dozen people in Kuwait on Friday.
“I think in all three instances that ISIS was the driving force,” he said, using another acronym for the Takfiri group. “There were very significant attacks.”
“I think the concern is the confluence of all these events,” McCaul added.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center have also issued warnings about possible attacks on US soil.
The FBI has arrested 10 Americans in the past three weeks plotting attacks in the United States.
The ISIL terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, have seized large parts of territory in Syria and Iraq.
They have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.
HRJ/HRJ
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