A day after reports indicated that the Islamic State militants have called on Lone Wolves to carry out pressure cooker bomb blasts at Times Square, NYPD has tightened its security in the area. The latest threat comes just days ahead of the Jewish High Holy Days.
Police commissioner William Bratton told 7online that the NYPD was vigilant in the face of the "possible new terror threats against New York City."
Earlier in the week, news outlet Vocativ's investigative team found images and detailed instructions reproduced from the summer 2010 edition of Inspire -- a magazine published by Al Qaeda in English -- on an online Arabic forum.
The post from the Islamic State militants, detailing the pressure cooker bomb making techniques, called on lone wolf terrorists to target Times Square, the report noted.
The terrorist sympathisers in the post also hailed Tsarnaevs, the brothers behind the Boston Marathon Bombing, who used pressure cooker bombs for the Boston bombings.
The NYPD following this threat put in a team of heavily armed officers around iconic tourist destination in New York.
"Today you will likely see a higher police presence in and around Times Square and in and around mass transit," John Miller, NYPD deputy chief of counter-terrorism and intelligence, told reporters while discussing the threat on Tuesday.
The Islamic State's threat in New York comes just days prior to the Jewish High Holidays or High Holy Days. The NYPD also has reportedly met with several Jewish leaders to discuss on security for the High Holy Days.
The FBI and NYPD that is currently jointly investigating the threat believe that since the 2010 foiled Times Square bomb attempt, the terrorists have been determined to complete the botched mission, but the threat is not imminent.
The Islamic State supporters reportedly chose Times Square as a target because the iconic tourist destination sees a high volume of tourists both domestic and international.
The Islamic State Sunni militants, who want to establish an Islamic Sharia Kingdom, have let loose a reign of terror is Syria and Iraq, killing minorities such as Yazidis and Christians. Recently President Barack Obama had promised to destroy the Islamic State militants, after declaring an all out war against the ISIS terrorist group.
