The Islamic State has reportedly rehashed previous calls for its supporters to kill police officers, soldiers, intelligence officers and civilians across the United States, five days after terror attacks killed 17 people in Paris.
The NYPD alerted city police to the threat and ordered them to remain vigilant after an online video in which an ISIS spokesman renewed calls for followers in Western countries to carry out small-scale attacks was released overnight on social media, the New York Post reported.
"Pay close attention to people as they approach and look for their hands as they approach you," the Daily News quoted from an internal NYPD safety memo.
The bulletin also directed police officers to not sit together in a police car if they have been assigned to a fixed post. "At least one officer must stand outside the vehicle at all times. Pay attention to your surroundings. Officers must pay close attention to approaching vehicles."
Although the terrorist organization has regularly been broadcasting such messages for "lone wolves" since months, federal and local authorities seem to be taking an additional measure of caution, with NYPD officers being told to take the threat seriously "in light of the terror attacks in France earlier this week."
"All officers must exercise tactical considerations in light of the terrorist attack on journalists and police officers in Paris," said an "officer safety alert" sent throughout the New York Police Department late Saturday night. "Please remain alert and consider tactics at all times while on patrol."
On Saturday, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohamad Al-Adnani issued a directive to kill police officers, soldiers, intelligence officers and civilians across the world, specifically mentioning the United States, France, Canada and Australia as prime targets.
"Do not let the battle pass you by wherever you may be," Al-Adnani said in the threat. "Strike their police, security and intelligence members, as well as their treacherous agents."
Lone wolves who don't have "an (improvised explosive device) or a bullet" could "smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car," he added.
Aside from NYPD, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are expected to issue a joint intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies across the country, according to ABC News.
"Although there's not a specific, credible threat that I can point to, I certainly think that the environment has changed over the years," Attorney General Eric Holder told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos from Paris on Sunday. "We have a very small number of people, without huge amounts of planning, without huge amounts of resources, inflicting very severe damage."
Meanwhile, recent terrorism-related events around the world "reinforce that the current terrorist threat to Western targets is a bifurcated one," NYPD's top intelligence and counterterrorism official, Deputy Commissioner John Miller, noted in his message to New York city officials.
"There are the 'lone wolf' attackers who respond to calls for violence over social media and operate independently and with little or no support or pre-operational planning," said Miller. "But there are also organizations like al-Qaeda, recruiting operators, planning attacks and exercising some level of command and control."
