British police and intelligence agencies on alert following terrorist attacks in the US
Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism - After the terrorist attacks by a former US military soldier in New Orleans that killed 15 people and injured dozens of others, British counter-terrorism police and domestic intelligence agencies have been put on alert.
According to the Iran Press news agency from London, news published in the UK shows that Chris Phillips, the former commander of the British National Counter-Terrorism Service, says that following the terrorist attacks in New Orleans, America, there is now concern that similar attacks will be repeated in the UK.
According to the newspaper, there are hundreds of centers and gathering places in the UK that may be targeted by similar attacks, and for this reason, the police’s counter-terrorism forces and the British domestic intelligence agency, known as MI5, are on alert.
According to media reports, the former member of the US army who drove a pickup truck through temporary barriers and into a crowded neighborhood of New Orleans on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens, has been identified as Shamsuddin Jabbar, who had converted to Islam. However, police and Western media have not yet revealed his real name.
The London-based Daily Mirror wrote about this: Police and MI5 are concerned that terrorist operations could also be carried out in the UK. The newspaper wrote that a spokesman for the British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday night that we are constantly assessing the security situation in the country to be aware of potential crises.
He added that Britain is among the targets of terrorists and that 3,000 potential extremists are being monitored.
The Daily Mirror wrote that the current level of insecurity in Britain is “considerable”, meaning that a terrorist attack is “possible” to occur in the country, and that is why armed police forces are patrolling around important centers.
A few years ago, after several terrorist attacks in London and Manchester that killed and injured dozens of people, the British government installed large steel and concrete barriers and metal columns in front of important government buildings and ministries, as well as shopping malls and high-traffic areas, to prevent people from running over pedestrians with cars.
