A New Threat To Be Prepared For This Summer

An explosives disposal technician inspects the contents of a suspicious package 24 September 2007 left on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street, near the White House , in Washington, DC. A recent internal FBI report warns federal, state and local authorities to be alert for a potential new tool in the jihadi terror arsenal -- the placing of suspicious, but harmless, bags in public places to inspire fear, disrupt public transportation and tie up police and bomb squads. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Jihadi Calls For 'Suspicious Bags' To Be Left Throughout DC and NYC -- ABC News

FBI Warns Of Potential New Terror Tactic As Summer Tourist Season Begins

A recent internal FBI report warns federal, state and local authorities to be alert for a potential new tool in the jihadi terror arsenal – the placing of suspicious, but harmless, bags in public places to inspire fear, disrupt public transportation and tie up police and bomb squads.

The so called "battle of suspicious bags" was encouraged by an unknown poster to a known jihadi website. On May 12th, the poster suggested an "invasions suspicious bags (sic)" in "the heart of Washington and New York," as the FBI's Washington Field Office Intelligence Division noted in its May 27th "Situational Information Report." The bags would contain not bombs, but innocuous items, a tactic that has been used by other political extremists in the U.S. in the recent past.

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My Comment: I had an experience like this a long time ago. To make ends meet, I worked as a security guard at the UN's Montreal ICAO offices in the mid 1980s. My station was on the ground floor, the work was easy, and I enjoyed interacting with the people. One day .... during summer .... I noticed a package that someone had left behind. Normally this would not be an issue .... people forget stuff all the time. But what was worrisome was that we had just been told to watch out for such "threats" .... that bomb threats had been received and that we had to be extra vigilant.

Sighhh .... I was the one who went to check out the package .... it was just a bag filled with books .... but the "heart attack" experience that I went through is still with me today, and it is an experience that I definitely do not want anyone else to go through.

This call to leave "suspicious" packages is nothing new from Jihadi groups who are bent to create disruption .... but our reaction to it should be simple .... be vigilant about it, and to position ourselves to capture and punish those who conduct themselves in such a manner.