The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:27 PM

ISIS Warned Of Christmas Season Attack on New York Two Weeks Ago In Cryptic Message

As Americans were celebrating Thanksgiving, ISIS issued a cryptic message about "Christmas in New York."

"We meet at Christmas in New York... soon," the message stated, superimposed over an image of Santa Claus and crowds in Times Square.

The image was shared online and on social media by ISIS sympathizers. And on Monday, an ISIS-inspired bomber detonated a bomb on a subway platform near Times Square.

The suspected bomber is a 27-year-old ISIS-inspired Bangladeshi national who lived in Brooklyn, The New York Post reported. The terrorist, Akayed Ullah, was injured and taken into custody.

Three others were hurt, but none of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

Bill Hemmer discussed the situation this morning with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who brought up the ISIS Christmas warning.

He said ISIS has been defeated in Iraq and Syria and the terror group is using the internet to radicalize people and motivate them to carry out attacks.

McCaul said Google, Twitter and Facebook are helping authorities and removing inflammatory messages, but more must be done.

"This is the new age of terror," he said, adding his biggest concern remains a terrorist smuggling an explosive device onto an airliner.