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Police in New York, Philadelphia on high alert over Daesh threat

New York City police officers stand guard near One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on November 24, 2015 in New York City. (AFP)

The New York Police Department is on high alert following threats of a Daesh attack against cops.

The NYPD issued an Officer Safety Alert across the department on Wednesday, said Thomas Galati, chief of the NYPD Intelligence Bureau.  

The threat was initially reported to Philadelphia police Tuesday by a tipster, claiming a man, affiliated with Daesh Takfiri militants in Syria and Iraq, is plotting to shoot a police officer.

“We know who this individual is and we're actively looking for him right now," Galati said.

According to New York-based Daily News, sources have identified the man as parolee Marcus Shelton, 36, a native of Peekskill, who has a lengthy criminal history.

Marcus Shelton (photo by Daily News)

The tipster who called the Philadelphia police was also said to have been traced in upper Manhattan.

Similar tips were received about Shelton pledging allegiance to Takfiris by detectives at the 32nd Precinct in Harlem.

"We are taking it serious based on what happened in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago," Galati said.

Early in January, a Daesh affiliate, called Edward Archer, shot Officer Jesse Hartnett three times in Philadelphia, in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania.

Shelton is said to have had 20 prior arrests over various crimes, including in connection to the murder of a Peekskill man.

Early in December 2015, the US saw the deadliest mass shooting in the country in three years.

Daesh affiliates, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, stormed a holiday party in San Bernardino, California, killing at least 14 people and injuring 21 others.

ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Syria and the neighboring Iraq, where they have been engaged in crimes against humanity.


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