The US Department of Homeland Security issued the latest terrorism threat advisory on Friday before commemorating the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks amidst a revival of the COVID pandemic.
The National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin averred: the United States faces a “heightened threat environment” from both domestic terrorists “and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences.”
It mentioned the amplified use of “online forums to influence and spread violent extremist narratives and promote violent activity.”
The January alert of the attack on the US Congress by supporters of former President Donald Trump, when DHS said, “The country faced “increasingly complex and volatile” threats from anti-government and racially motivated extremists, often stirred up by online influence from abroad.”
The bulletin had already been restructured in May, wherein DHS warning violent extremists are most probable to exploit the curbing of Covid-19 restrictions to conduct attacks.
“Extremists may seek to exploit the emergence of Covid-19 variants by viewing the potential re-establishment of public health restrictions across the United States as a rationale to conduct attacks,” the DHS advisory averred, adding that “pandemic-related stressors… may contribute to more violence this year.”
Despite a sturdy vaccination program, coronavirus case numbers have significantly witnessed a surge in recent months in the United States due to the entry of the latest Delta variant, diverging to adopt new health measures.
This “demonstrates that foreign terrorist organizations continue efforts to inspire US-based individuals susceptible to violent extremist influences,” DHS added.
The United States believe AQAP that the terror group’s most dangerous branch has initiated a campaign of drone strikes against its fighters in Yemen just after the 9/11 attacks. DHS was introduced after 9/11 in order to keep a regular check on terrorism threats and issue advisories.
