The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has expressed concern over the likelihood of a coordinated assault in the United States that can be similar to the attack that took the lives of thousands at a Russian concert hall in March.
On Thursday, the director of the FBI plans to inform a House of Representatives panel. ‘Looking back over my career in law enforcement, I’d be hard-pressed to think of a time where threats to our public safety and national security were so raised all at once’, Christopher Wray is set to tell lawmakers during a budget hearing.
‘But that is the case as I sit here today’. The targeted attack on a concert hall in Russia’s Moscow on March 22, which took the lives of over 144 people, is termed to be the country’s deadliest assault ever in nearly two decades.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has put the blame on Ukraine for the attack without any proof.
However, a branch of the Islamic State terror group has taken responsibility for the same. United States officials are worried about the risk of an attack by an individual or a small group influenced by the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The FBI is careful about a more coordinated attack after the concert massacre that killed scores in Russia, Wray is expected to testify before the panel.
Of increasing concern for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia Concert Hall a couple of weeks ago, he will say as per the media reports.
Wray also plans to push lawmakers to bring back an American surveillance program, that is set to expire in April, dubbing it as an integral tool to combat US adversaries.
On Wednesday members of both parties blocked a modest overhaul of the program in the House stating concerns that it didn’t go far enough in limiting the government’s surveillance powers.
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