Dina Mahmoud (London)
High-level British security sources revealed that the authorities in the country have raised the state of alert, with the approach of the annual celebrations of “Christmas”, which the United Kingdom and other Western countries are witnessing, starting from next Sunday, until the beginning of the new year, for fear of The occurrence of any terrorist attacks during that period.
The sources indicated that the anti-terrorism units have tightened their security measures and strengthened their forces throughout Britain, in conjunction with the influx of shoppers into the main commercial areas in cities and towns, to buy needs for the festive period, amid fears of the possibility of attacks by “lone wolves.” She owes allegiance to the terrorist organization ISIS.
These measures include the deployment of more police officers in the streets, and the establishment of additional barriers and fortifications, to prevent any possible run-over operations in cities such as Newcastle and York, located in the northwest and north-east of England, respectively.
Over the past years, several Western countries have witnessed bloody terrorist attacks, in conjunction with the “Christmas” season, and a number of them have been carried out in special shopping areas, with the requirements of this period of the year.
Sources in the British anti-terrorism police said that there is fear that the new leader of the terrorist organization “ISIS”, Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi, will seek to plan to carry out “brutal attacks” in the West, in order to make his “mark”, after he was chosen to lead this movement. The terrorist organization a few weeks ago, following the killing of its former leader, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.
In statements published on the website of the British newspaper, The Mirror, an unidentified security source said, “It is likely that the new leader of ISIS will seek to launch such attacks,” stressing that “Britain is definitely a target” for any such attack.
In the same context, former British military intelligence officer Mike Tabb warned that terrorist threats usually increase in conjunction with Western occasions of a religious nature, in reference to Christmas.
For her part, Helen Millichap, Acting Senior National Coordinator for Preparedness and Protection Affairs for the Anti-Terrorism Police in Britain, called on citizens to cooperate with the authorities to maintain security in their areas, in light of the fact that they “know these areas and neighborhoods better than anyone else, which makes them more capable.” To monitor everything that is suspicious.
Millichap indicated that the British security services receive about 10,000 reports per year related to the existence of potential security risks, saying that 20 percent of these reports include “useful intelligence information.”
The high-ranking British security official added that the authorities in the United Kingdom are “working day and night to monitor any possible terrorist activity,” stressing that the concerned agencies in the country had previously thwarted 37 terrorist plots that were in their final stages, since 2017.
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