Islamic State Threatens President Trump's Son, Barron

President Donald Trump pointing to his son Barron while watching the inaugural parade with First Lady Melania Trump in Washington, U.S. Jan. 20, 2017. Photo: Reuters

Washington Free Beacon: ISIS Calls for Assassination of Barron Trump

Shares child's personal details

Pro-ISIS internet channels are calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump's son, Barron, and have shared personal details of the child's life on its social media networks, including the address of his school, according to a media monitoring organization.

ISIS supporters, on a well-known Telegram channel, shared the name and address of Barron Trump's school and are calling for backers of the terrorist organization to assassinate him, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI.

The initial message, sent on Nov. 21 by an ISIS supporter on Telegram, "called for the assassination of Barron Trump, and shared the name of the school that Barron attends along with a Google map pinpointing its location," according to MEMRI, which shares images of this messages with reporters.

Read more ....

Update: ISIS Wants Barron Trump Dead, Calls For Supporters To Kill President's Son (IBTimes).

WNU Editor: There are some doubts that this threat is legitimate .... Did ISIS Call for the Assassination of Barron Trump? (Snopes)

Update #2: The Islamic State is even threatening the Pope .... ISIS threatens to attack pope with ‘Christmas blood’ in propaganda poster (NYPost).

U.S. Homeland Acting Security Secretary: ISIS Is Planning The Next 9/11

The Telegraph: Terrorist groups planning another 9/11-style attack, top US official warns

Islamic State and other terrorist groups are planning to target aircraft as they aim to carry out another major attack on the scale of 9/11, a top US security official has said.

Elaine Duke, acting US Homeland Security Secretary, said the groups were using smaller attacks to raise money and “keep their members engaged”.

“The threat is still severe,” she said in London after meeting Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

“The terrorist organisations, be it Isis or al-Qaeda or others, want to have the big explosion like they did on 9/11. They want to take down aircraft, the intelligence is clear on that."

Britain and Europe have seen a string of crude attacks, from the ramming and stabbing attack on London Bridge to the homemade bomb in Manchester.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Homeland Acting Security Secretary Warning That ISIS Is Planning The Next 9/11

Terror groups working for another 9/11, acting DHS chief warns -- Fox News
Isis and other Islamist terror groups plotting similar attack to 9/11, says US security chief -- The Independent
ISIS and Al-Qaeda Are Planning a 'New 9/11,' Security Chief Elaine Duke Warns -- Newsweek
This US Security Chief Says ISIS is Planning the Next 9/11 -- Al-Bawaba
Intelligence shows Isis plotting terror attacks similar to 9/11 says top US security chief -- International Business Times
US Homeland Security Chief Warns Terrorists Plotting New 9/11-Style Attack -- Sputnik

Are Trump Properties Around The World At Risk Of Terror Attacks?

A doorman stands as people walk past the Trump Tower in New York, U.S., May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

WNU Editor: A disturbing analysis from the AP .... Trump properties face global terror risk with presidency (AP).

More Threats From The Islamic State

An English-speaking ISIS jihadi has warned America they will be attacked 'very soon' and 'by Allah's permission do to your country what we did to Paris'

Daily Mail: English-speaking ISIS jihadi warns America they will be attacked 'very soon' and 'by Allah's permission do to your country what we did to Paris'

* Narrator warns America that ISIS will 'kill, slaughter and burn your people'
* Jihadi tells US it can expect an atrocity similar to the massacre in Paris
* 130 were massacred in wave of shootings and bombings in French capital
* English speaker says: 'We will attack you very soon with anything we lay our hands on'

An English-speaking ISIS jihadi has warned America they will be attacked 'very soon' and 'by Allah's permission do to your country what we did to Paris'.

In a chilling new ISIS video, he warns the US and President Barack Obama that the terror group will 'kill, slaughter and burn your people'.

The jihadi tells America it can expect an atrocity similar to the massacre in Paris in November in which 130 people were murdered in a wave of shootings and suicide bomb attacks.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: More of the same.

FBI Investigating Islamic State Terror Threat Within The U.S.

Photo from Drudge Report

CNN: Officials: FBI probes possible ISIS-inspired threat

(CNN)The FBI is investigating a possible ISIS-inspired terrorist threat in the United States, law enforcement officials said Saturday.

The investigation originated from intercepted chatter and other intelligence information that led officials to believe a possible plot could be in the works, the officials said.

No arrests have been made. It's not clear whether the threat is real or aspirational.

The exact nature of the threat couldn't be learned. One official said it focused on parts of California where officials stepped up security, a U.S. official said.

Update #1: TSA Warns of Possible ISIS Attack on U.S. Soil -- The Intercept
Update #2: FBI probing potential ISIS-inspired threat in US: report -- The Hill
Update #3: Officials pick up possible ISIS threat to U.S. military, police -- CBS

WNU Editor: Law enforcement is releasing no details .... but they are definitely edgy.

Has The Attacks In Paris Embolden Terrorists Worldwide?

As night fell in the French capital, tens of thousands of people continued marching in 'unprecedented' numbers. Today saw more people flock to the city's streets than ever before in its history. Daily Mail

AP: Paris attack rallies Islamic extremists, may boost support

WNU Editor: It does not take much to embolden terror groups and terrorists .... but in view of how three terrorists were able to attract (and keep) the attention of the entire world for a few days .... you cannot help but feel that copy-cat attacks are now just around the corner.

Al-Qaeda's Inspire Magazine Urges ‘Lone Wolf’ Terror Attacks On Major Western Airlines

Chilling: Al-Qaeda's house magazine (above) calls for high-profile airlines British Airways, easyJet, AA, Delta, United and Air France to be targeted by bombers to 'crush the enemy's economy'. Police are investigating. Daily Mail

Al-Qaeda Official Tells West To Prepare For 'Worst Nightmare' And Directs 'Lone Wolf' Attacks Towards easyJet And British Airways -- Independent

An al-Qaeda official has warned that the West should prepare itself for more ‘lone wolf’ attacks as the latest edition of the terrorist organisation’s magazine singles out UK airliners British Airways and easyJet as targets.

Inspire magazine, founded in 2010, is purportedly published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and seeks to influence possible Islamic radicals through publishing interviews and instructions with leading extremists in English.

Writing in the latest edition, published on Christmas Eve, Sheikh Nasr Al-Ânisi tells readers ‘lone wolves’ are the “West’s worst nightmare. They instill [sic] fear around the world.”

Read more ....

More News On Al-Qaeda's Inspire Magazine Urging ‘Lone Wolf’ Terror Attacks On Major Western Airlines

Al-Qaeda urges 'lone wolf' jihadists to strike AA, United and Delta planes in latest issue of its house magazine -- Daily Mail
Al Qaeda's Latest ‘Inspire’ Magazine Dedicated to Bombing Airliners, Inspiring Lone Wolf Attacks -- HSToday
Al-Qaeda mag urges ‘lone wolf’ terror attacks on major Western airlines -- RT
Al-Qaeda Urges "Lone Wolf" Attacks on Airline Companies -- Sputnik
Al Qaeda magazine gives bomb-making recipe for airline attacks -- New York Post
Al-Qaeda magazine praises 'lone-wolf' terrorists -- YNet News
Al-Qaeda urges ‘lone wolf’ attacks on airliners -- Times of Israel
Al-Qaeda online terror mag Inspire urges 'lone wolf' attacks against BA and easyJet -- IBTimes
New issue of jihadist magazine produced by al-Qaeda in Yemen suggests attacks on U.S. -- Washington Post
Al-Qaeda Calls for Terrorists to Bomb America's Top Airlines — Instructions Included -- Yahoo Travel

London Mayor: Thousands Of Potential Terrorists Are Being Monitored

London Mayor Boris Johnson (Reuters / Darren Staples)

Boris Johnson: ‘Thousands Of Potential Terrorists Monitored In London’ -- The Guardian

London mayor speaks as police chiefs tell officers to be more vigilant amid heightened threat.

Boris Johnson has said thousands of potential terrorists are being monitored by the security services in London.

The London mayor said an attack was highly likely, causing the raising of the national terror threat level from substantial to severe more than a month ago.

“In London we’re very, very vigilant and very, very concerned. Every day – as you saw recently, we had to raise the threat level – every day the security services are involved in thousands of operations,” he told the Telegraph. “There are probably in the low thousands of people that we are monitoring in London.”

Read more ....

More News On London's Mayor Declaring That Thousands Of Potential Terrorists Are Being Monitored

'Thousands' in London monitored by security services, says mayor -- AFP
UK intelligence agencies monitor ‘1,000s of terror suspects’ daily – London mayor -- RT
London mayor says security services monitoring 'thousands' of terror suspects -- FOX News

My Comment: Thousands ?!?!?!

Foreign Fighters In Syria Pose A 'Very Serious Threat' To The West

Chechen Omar al-Shishani (centre) led Jaysh al-Muhajirin before it split, and is now part of the al-Qaeda-affiliated ISIS. BBC

U.S., Foreign Fighters In Syria Pose 'Very Serious Threat' To U.S.: Lawmaker -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Hundreds of U.S., British and Canadian citizens who have trained with Islamic State fighters trying to carve out their own state in Iraq and Syria pose a "very serious threat" to the United States, a top Republican lawmaker said Sunday.

Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, urged the Obama administration to aggressively prosecute U.S. citizens who had trained overseas as it weighed options for how to respond to escalating violence by Islamic State militants in Iraq.

He said an attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels in May had shown a new push by extremist groups to carry out attacks on Western targets, and growing efforts to recruit backers on social media.

"I'm very concerned because we don't know every single person who has gone and trained and learned how to fight," Rogers told "Fox News Sunday."

Read more ....

My Comment: The FBI disagrees with this assessment .... FBI: No credible threats to US from Islamic State (AP). What's my take .... we should worry.

Top Pentagon Intelligence Chief: US Less Safe Than Several Years Ago And Al Qaeda's Ideology Is Rapidly Expanding

Defense Intelligence Agency director U.S. Army Lt. General Michael Flynn (Reuters / Gary Cameron)

US Is No Safer After 13 Years Of War, A Top Pentagon Official Says -- Anna Mulrine, CSM

The outgoing head of the Defense Intelligence Agency says that new players on the scene are more radical than Al Qaeda, and the core Al Qaeda ideology has lost none of its potency.

The nation is no safer after 13 years of war, warns a top US military official who leads one of the nation’s largest intelligence organizations.

“We have a whole gang of new actors out there that are far more extreme than Al Qaeda,” says Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which employs some 17,000 American intelligence collectors in 140 countries around the world.

That the United States is no safer – and in some respects may be less safe – even after two wars and trillions of dollars could prove to be disappointing news for Americans, noted the journalist questioning General Flynn at the Aspen Security Forum last week.

Read more ....

More News On The Pentagon's Top Intel Chief Saying That The US Is Less Safe Than Several Years Ago

US Less Safe Than Several Years Ago, Top Intelligence Official Says -- ABC News
DIA Chief: Al Qaeda Ideology Rapidly Expanding -- Washington Free Beacon
DIA Chief: Terrorists, Their Ideology Are 'Exponentially Growing' -- Newsmax

U.S. Malls On Alert After The Nairobi Mall Massacre And Siege

U.S. Malls On Alert After Al-Shabab Assault In Nairobi -- Daily Beast

Miranda Green reports on the heightened security at U.S. shopping centers after the Nairobi mall siege.

The Department of Homeland Security is urging shopping malls in the United States to increase security in the aftermath of the carnage wrought by al Qaeda’s Somalia affiliate over the weekend in Nairobi.

Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, told The Daily Beast on Monday that the department contacted shopping malls Sunday to check on the precautions they were taking against mass shooters.

U.S. intelligence officials say there is no specific threat information suggesting that al Qaeda is planning a similar kind of mass shooting in American shopping malls. Nonetheless, security experts worry about copycats.

Read more ....

Update: Malls mulling security boosts after Nairobi attack -- NBC

My Comment: These U.S. fears are justified .... especially since it appears that many al Shabaab supporters live and reside in the U.S..

Countries With the Greatest Risk Of Terrorism (Graphic)

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

From RIA Novosti: The index draws on the latest and most comprehensive data available to calculate the frequency and lethality of terrorist incidents in 197 countries. The index also includes a historical component assessing the number of attacks over five years and assesses risks relating to countries’ geographic proximity to terrorist hotspots.

My Comment: The graph is from 2011 .... but it is still applicable today. As for the the British company Maplecroft that compiles these statistics, it's website is here.

Russia President Putin Warns Of Terrorism Spilling Over From Syria

Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the CSTO. © RIA Novosti. Alexey Druzhinin

Putin Addresses Risks of Terrorism Spilling Over From Syria -- RIA Novsoti

SOCHI, September 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a gathering of Eurasian leaders on Monday that he was concerned about terrorism spreading from Syria to Russia and neighboring states.

“Rebel groups [in Syria] did not arise out of thin air and are not going to disappear. The problem of terrorism spilling over from one country to another is certainly real and can certainly affect the interests of any of our countries,” Putin said in Sochi at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance of former Soviet states.

Read more ....

Update: Russia's Putin says Syria violence could hit ex-Soviet bloc -- Reuters

My Comment: While Putin and his government are worried about a Syrian spillover of terrorism into Russia .... but his big worry is this place.

Intercepted al Qaeda Message Is The Reason Why The U.S. Is Shuttering It's Embassies And Consulates

Intercepted al Qaeda Message Led To Shuttering Embassies, Consulates -- CNN

(CNN) -- An intercepted message among senior al Qaeda operatives in the last several days raised alarm bells that led to the closing of embassies and consulates Sunday across the Middle East and North Africa, CNN has learned.

CNN has agreed to a request from an Obama administration official not to publish or broadcast additional details because of the sensitivity of the information.

Several U.S. officials also emphasized they have been watching growing threats emerging from Yemen for weeks.

Those threats, combined with the coming end of the month of Ramadan, plus the concern over several major prison breaks in the region, all contributed to the U.S. decision to shut down diplomatic installations.

Read more ....

More News On The Latest Al Qaeda Terror Threat

Chambliss, sources: Terror chatter beyond anything heard since before 9/11 -- FOX News
'Significant Threat Stream' Prompts Embassies, Consulates Across Muslim Countries to Close -- ABC News
'Significant' al Qaeda threat remains unclear as embassy closures extended -- NBC
U.S. extends closure of some embassies through August 10 -- Reuters
U.S. Extends Closing of Some Diplomatic Posts -- New York Times
Terror Threat Extends U.S. Embassy Closures to Aug. 10 -- Bloomberg
Embassy closings, travel warning renew debate over NSA data collection -- McClatchy News
U.S. Embassies To Remain Closed Through August 10 -- RTT
Congressional leaders agree on drastic response to al Qaeda terrorist threat -- Washington Times
Al Qaeda threat is 'real and serious' - intelligence committee chief -- NBC

Interpol Declares Global Security Alert After Al Qaeda Jailbreaks

Interpol Issues Global Alert Over al-Qaida-Linked Prison Breakouts -- The Guardian

Police agency urges countries to show increased vigilance after hundreds of terrorists escaped over past nine months.

Interpol has issued a global security alert following a series of al-Qaida-linked prison breakouts in which hundreds of terrorists escaped.

The warning came a day after the US state department issued a worldwide travel warning to American citizens and closed 21 of its embassies over intelligence suggesting that the terrorist network was planning attacks during August. Britain is closing its embassy in Yemen for two days due to increased security concerns.

In a statement issued from its headquarters in Lyon, France, Interpol urged countries around the world to show "increased vigilance", following prison breakouts over the past month in nine countries, including Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Read more ....

More News On Interpol Declaring A Global Security Alert After Al Qaeda Jailbreaks

Interpol Asks Nations to Help Track Terror Suspects Freed in Prison Breaks -- New York Times
Interpol issues global security alert linked to jailbreaks -- BBC
Interpol issues global alert after al Qaida-linked prison breaks -- NBC
Interpol Issues Global Alert on Prison Breaks -- Voice of America
Interpol warns West of potential terror attacks -- New York Daily News
Interpol Issues Security Alert on Prison Breaks -- Wall Street Journal
Is rash of brazen prison breaks related? Interpol wants to know -- CNN

Intercepted Al Qaeda Communications Indicate Planned Attack ‘Big’ And ‘Strategically Significant’

Senior U.S. Official: Intercepted Al Qaeda Communications Indicate Planned Attack ‘Big,’ ‘Strategically Significant’ -- ABC News

On the day that almost two dozen U.S. embassies and consulates across North Africa and the Middle East are closed following the identification of a significant threat from an al-Qaeda affiliate, a senior U.S. official is providing new details about the communications intercepted from the terrorists, telling ABC News that al-Qaeda operatives could be heard talking about an upcoming attack. The official described the terrorists as saying the planned attack is “going to be big” and “strategically significant.”

“The part that is alarming is the confidence they showed while communicating and the air of certainty,” the official said, adding that the group — Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — appeared to have a media plan for after the attack.

Authorities do not know the exact target of the planned attack, according to the official.

Read more ....

My Comment: The White House is worried .... but not that worried to interrupt golf. I suspect that more details will be disclosed in the weeks to come.

Intel Community Concerned That Too Much About Latest al Qaeda Threat Has Been Disclosed

Intel Community Worried Obama Administration Disclosed Too Much About Latest al Qaeda Threat -- Washington Times

Fear that sources and methods may have been compromised.

In warning about possible al Qaeda attacks against Americans overseas, U.S. officials may have provided too much detail about intercepted chatter and the source of the information, and that may make it more difficult to get such tips next time, former and current intelligence officials say.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide travel alert for Americans, citing an unspecified al Qaeda threat. The bulletin said that the highest threat levels are the Middle East and North Africa, “and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arab Peninsul

As a result of the threat, the United States will close 21 embassies in 17 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia on Sunday, the traditional start of the work week in those countries.

Read more ....

My Comment: I was also surprised by the details that have been released by the U.S. government .... so much so that I am wondering if they have a mole within Al Qaeda's Yemen branch.

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.

Read more ....

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.

Terrorist Strike On U.S. Soil Before The Inauguration?

Barack Obama Is Warned To Beware Of A ‘Huge Threat’
From Al-Qaeda -- Times Online

Security officials fear a ‘spectacular’ during the transition period

Barack Obama is being given ominous advice from leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to brace himself for an early assault from terrorists.

General Michael Hayden, director of the CIA, this week acknowledged that there were dangers during a presidential transition when new officials were coming in and getting accustomed to the challenges. But he added that no “real or artificial spike” in intercepted transmissions from terror suspects had been detected.

President Bush has repeatedly described the acute vulnerability of the US during a transition. The Bush Administration has been defined largely by the 9/11 attacks, which came within a year of his taking office.

Read more ....

My Comment: President Obama .... welcome to the real world.

Homegrown Terrorism Threats -- The List Of Organizations

Oklahoma City Bombing

From Counter Terrorism:

This is the second article in the series by Madeleine Gruen and Frank Hyland, portraying the seriousness of the threat of homegrown terrorism in the United States for readers of The Counterterrorism Blog.

In viewing the “landscape” of terrorism then, the many professionals who serve you by putting in long hours searching out threats do a good bit of “Threat Ranking.” An important criterion is whether the threatening group has the presence, the level of intention, and the capability to carry out its threat.

Read more ....

My Comment: They have listed the following groups that present a clear and present danger to the United States:

1. Al-Qa’ida & Al-Qa’ida-Inspired Individuals or Groups
2. White Nationalist Groups
3. Lebanese Hizballah
4. Palestinian Islamic Jihad
5. HAMAS
6. Hizb ut-Tahrir
7. Muslim Brotherhood
8. USA General Store

This is a good list, and the order of importance is accurate. However, I would add the following to the list .... Foreign Government's that actively use/or have used their own organizations/agents to support terrorism as an element of their diplomacy.
They are .....
1) Iran
2) North Korea
3) Pakistan