Al-Qaeda may pose threat to US on Election Day

Federal officials have warned authorities in New York City, Texas and Virginia about an unspecified threat of attacks by Al-Qaeda militants around Election Day, putting local law enforcement on alert days before the vote, officials said yesterday.

A US government source in Washington said some federal agencies sent bulletins to local and state officials flagging the information but said that the threat was relatively low level.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates airports, tunnels and bridges around New York City, is continuing high levels of patrol it has in place, spokesman Steve Coleman said.

Coleman declined to offer details on the warning, but the New York City Police Department said the threat report lacked specifics and was still being assessed.

“We are aware of the information,” the department said in a statement, adding that it was working with intelligence agencies and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Although some of the attention of US authorities has shifted to Daesh-inspired attacks, the Al-Qaeda network has shown resilience more than 15 years after it was responsible for the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

Last month, the United States carried out strikes in Afghanistan targeting two of Al-Qaeda’s senior leaders there, and Al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch has posed a risk to merchant ships in waterways nearby.

Last July, the US Treasury also designated and sanctioned three senior Al-Qaeda members on their terrorist watch list. The US Treasury’s website states that these Al-Qaeda operatives are currently living in Iran, which suggests that they are being harboured by the Shia theocracy.

US intelligence agencies still view Al-Qaeda and its affiliates as a top counter terrorism priority.

The White House said it was aware of the reported Al-Qaeda threats and mindful of increased risk of attacks during events such as Election Day.

Authorities were assessing whether there was a plot and whether the states named were real targets or misdirection. “Another possibility is that this is just an attempt to inspire someone here to mount an attack,” the official said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security did not confirm the reports or comment on details.

In Washington, a Homeland Security official said authorities remained concerned that so-called “home-grown” militants could be inspired to attack within the United States.