Following terror outfit Al Shabaab’s release of a new video in which it has called for attacks on three Western malls, including the popular Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis, the US Government has said there is “no credible threat”, but at the same time has urged shoppers to be vigilant. Al Shabaab, the Somali terrorist group that carried out a deadly attack in a Nairobi mall in 2013 killing more than 60 people, has specifically mentioned the Mall of America, along with West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Oxford Street in london.
The Mall of America, located in Bloomington in the outskirts of Minnesota’s Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, is estimated to receive 40 million visitors annually. The naming of this particular mall is regarded as significant since the Minneapolis metro area has the largest Somali-American population in the United States. According to US reports, 22 young Somali-Americans left the area between 2007 and 2009 to join Al Shabaab, while another 15 left the Twin Cities in recent months to join ISIS.
“Anytime a terrorist organisation calls for an attack on a specific place, we’ve got to take that seriously,” US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told CNN on Sunday, asking people going to the Mall of America to be particularly careful. “There will be enhanced security there, but public vigilance, public awareness and public caution in situations like this is particularly important, and it’s the environment we’re in, frankly,” he said.
“We’re in a new phase now, and I’m afraid that this most recent video release reflects that,” Joshnson said on ABC’s This Week show. To allay any spread of fear, another Homeland Security official later sought to clarify Johnson’s remarks, saying: “Secretary Johnson didn’t say that they should not go to the mall. He told shoppers to be extra-vigilant and that security was increased.” Bloomington Police released a statement subsequently, saying: “At this time, there is no credible threat associated with Mall of America”. It said the mall remains “a very safe place”, but adding that additional security personnel have been enlisted.
As in the recent ISIS videos executing Western hostages, a masked narrator is seen in the Al Shabaab video, speaking with a British accent and calling on Muslim men to attack the Western malls. An image of the Mall of America is shown in the video. The Mall of America, in a statement released to the media, said they are taking the threats seriously. “We will continue to monitor events with the help of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. As always, we take any potential threat seriously and respond appropriately,” it said, stressing the mall has implemented extra security precautions.