The Islamic State (ISIS) warned that it would attack New York City's Times Square in a new video released Wednesday.
The five-minute video shows previous attacks, a montage of explosions, and a suicide bomber strapping explosives to his chest; this footage was interspersed with images of Times Square, busy intersections, and storefronts in Manhattan.
Following Friday's coordinated attacks in Paris last week, which killed 129, ISIS issued a threat against the United States—Washington, D.C. specifically—as well as other countries that are participating in Syrian airstrikes. On Monday, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton told MSNBC’s Morning Joe that New York is “the most likely target” for the extremist group's next attack.
After ISIS' latest video surfaced Wednesday, the NYPD told NTRSCTN in a statement that it would “remain at a heightened state of vigilance." Read the department's full statement, below:
We are aware of the newly-released ISIL video that mentions Times Square. While some of the video footage is not new, the video reaffirms the message that New York City remains a top terrorist target. While there is no current or specific threat to the City at this time, we will remain at a heightened state of vigilance and will continue to work with the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the entire intelligence community to keep the City of New York safe. In addition, we are continuing to deploy additional Critical Response Command (CRC) teams throughout the City, out of an abundance of caution.
