White supremacist terrorists as well as ISIS militants could be planning to target Independence Day celebrations, federal authorities warned.
FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center, have said US ‘domestic radicals’ could use these events to strike at the government.
The warning came as ISIS supporters featured New York and Washington DC in propaganda threatening ‘retribution’ in the lead up to July 4 festivities.
In images spread online by ISIS extremists, jihadists were pictured in front of a mass of flames spreading from the White House.
Other propaganda posters showed a fiery plane crash with a soldier fleeing down a New York street, away from the Manhattan Bridge.
Two M1A1 Abrams tanks and military vehicle on guarded rail cars in Washington, DC. President Trump asked the Pentagon for military hardware, including tanks, to be displayed during the 4th of July Salute To America on the National Mall
A city workers hangs US and District of Colombia flags on light poles along Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC ahead of the the festivities
One poster shows Donald Trump’s head superimposed on a orange jumpsuit with a jihadists standing behind him, as what appears to be Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament crumble in the background.
The words ‘soon’ an attack at ‘the doors of Europe’ and ‘harvest time’ were written on some the images.
Some threats referenced the Berlin attack in December 2016 as well as the Strasbourg Christmas market shooting last year.
July 4 is a significant date for ISIS as it was the day in 2014 when leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the creation of the so-called caliphate at the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul.
ISIS has renewed calls for its supporters to launch attacks on the West, including Europe, Russia, the US and Australia, with low-tech methods such as using cars or trucks to drive at crowds.
This call to arms came as Islamic State was swept out of its lands in Iraq and Syria by Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish fighters in March.
Thousands of Americans celebrate the Annual Fourth of July Fireworks on Independence Day on the National Mall in Washington, DC
Investigating police work in a street of Strasbourg after the Christmas market shooting suspect was killed by officers
A senior FBI official recently testified to Congress that the bureau is currently tacking around 1,000 suspected ‘homegrown’ ISIS-inspired extremists who were radicalised by foreign groups.
Last month a the FBI foiled an attempted bomb plot by a Syrian refugee on a church in Pittsburgh.
Investigators claim he was planning an attack in the name of ISIS and was caught discussing the plot with an undercover agent.
However law enforcement agencies said there are no known plots picked up by intelligence services specifically aimed at July 4 events.
The FBI statement read: ‘We are unaware of any current plots specifically targeting such events.’
US federal agencies are also concerned about domestic terrorists and have urged law enforcement personnel to remain vigilant for suspicious activity, according to ABC News.
People fly into the air as a vehicle is driven into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in 2017. James Fields was jailed for life over the attack
A bulletin issued last week to local law enforcement warned, ‘have attacked perceived oppressors, opponents, or enemies engaged in outdoor First Amendment-protected rallies or protests during past summers’.
Such bulletins are routinely distributed in the days before a major national holiday, but previous warning have focused on ‘homegrown’ terrorists radicalised by overseas extremists such as ISIS or al-Qaeda.
The warning suggested upcoming Independence Day parades and gatherings could be ‘soft targets’.
It read: ‘We note that attacks can occur with little to no warning because of the frequently lower levels of security around civilian targets, challenges in securing large crowds, and calls for attacks against soft targets.’
The FBI said it was currently investigating around 850 suspected ‘domestic’ terrorists, which represents a significant increase in probes into white supremacists.
The statement referenced James Fields, who killed a woman and injuring scores of protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 by driving into crowds at a ‘Unite the Right’ rally counter-demonstration.
He was jailed for life last week after being convicted of federal hate crimes.