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2 8 Places Terrorists Could Strike Next
he new face of Islamic terror, as seen in the deadly Charlie Hebdo
assault in Paris, involves trained fighters hitting soft targets. Terrorists know they no longer have to hit jetliners and New York skyscrapers. “There is an absolute
paradigm change,” says Homeland Security Adviser Paul Goldenberg. U.S. counterterrorism
of icials say these are among the most vulnerable targets for the latest brand of terror:
HOTELS 1
The terror attacks in Mumbai, India, at the Taj
Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel continue to inspire terrorists around the world. Members of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba Islamic terrorist group struck with guns, explosives, and firebombs, killing dozens of tourists and hotel workers. It may be dif icult to imagine such mayhem breaking out in the United States. But at the very least, the State Department has warned of the
dangers of staying in hotels frequented by large numbers of Westerners.
CHEMICAL PLANTS 2
Since 9/11, the government has feared terrorists
could cause thousands, even millions, of deaths and injuries by sabotaging one or more of America’s 15,000 industrial chemical plants. In August 2013, President
Obama issued an order to improve chemical-facility safety, in coordination with owners and operators. But critics warn security still isn’t commensurate with the potential mayhem caused by an attack.
CASINOS 3
Gambling meccas are a target because they
represent the supposed Western decadence many extremists profess to hate. A recent edition of an al- Qaida magazine specifically recommended the targeting of casinos in Las Vegas. That would be hard to pull off : Las
Vegas has some of the most sophisticated security and surveillance systems in the world. But the sheer volume of traf ic makes increased vigilance a necessity.
POWER INFRASTRUCTURE 4
If America’s power grid went down, the results
could be catastrophic. Last year the Metcalf
Transmission Substation in California’s Santa Clara County became the scene of a military-style attack. Surveillance video showed the muzzle flash of rifles and sparks from bullets striking the chain-link fence around the substation for nearly 20 minutes. Investigators believe it was a professional job — the shell casings left behind carried no fingerprints — but have yet to apprehend a suspect.
SHOPPING MALLS 5
Shopping areas are another prime target.
In September 2013, four
al-Shabaab gunmen strolled through a Kenyan shopping mall, talking on their cellphones while methodically killing over 60 people. More recently, an American at an Abu Dhabi mall was stabbed to death by a man in a burqa who was inspired by jihadist websites. U.S. malls are not impervious, either. In November 2003, authorities arrested a Somali resident of Columbus, Ohio, who was planning to bomb a local shopping mall.
CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES
6
Last December a man screaming “I want to kill
the Jews!” invaded a Brooklyn Synagogue and stabbed a yeshiva student in the head before he was shot to death by police. A month earlier, an attack at an Orthodox synagogue in Jerusalem by two Palestinians wielding meat cleavers left four rabbis dead. “The terrorists are going to continue to focus on houses of worship,” says Goldenberg.
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56 NEWSMAX | MARCH 2015
DREAMSTIME.COM PHOTOS: 1/© JOHNNYDEVIL, 2/© SUPAKITMD, 3/© MONKEY BUSINESS IMAGES, 4/© EDMUND LOWE, 5/© BRETT CRITCHLEY, 6/© SEAN PAVONE, 7/©EMESS, 8/© CYNTHIA FARMER
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