Dogs sniff something suspicious at Denver airport.
AB Wire
The United States is on guard for terrorist attacks following the dastardly terrorist attacks by ISIS in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday, which killed more than 30 people and injured more than 200 others.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is deploying additional security to major city airports and at various rail and transit stations around the United States, reported ABC News.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees TSA, announced the enhanced measures Tuesday, despite there being “no specific, credible intelligence of any plot to conduct similar attacks here in the United States.
“That said, we remain very focused on the threat posed by lone terrorist actors who may lack direct connection to a foreign terrorist organization,” said DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson in a statement.
Johnson said the department is concerned that radicalized individuals or small groups could carry out an attack within the U.S. “with little warning.”
TSA is working with state and local law enforcement, airport authorities, and the aviation industry in order to augment the new security measures, according to Johnson.
Local law enforcement and airport authorities are responsible for securing individual airports around the country.
He also said that since the Paris attacks in November, federal authorities have enhanced information sharing about potential terrorist threats with France and Belgium. Belgian citizens do not need a visa to travel to the U.S., but Johnson pointed out that all travelers are vetted against the U.S. Terrorist Screening Database.
“We continually evaluate whether more screening is necessary, particularly in light of today’s attacks,” he said.
DHS and the FBI have been in communication today with state and local law enforcement, as many local authorities have increased security and raised their public-facing profile.
Johnson also said that his department is taking “a number of other security measures” that will not be disclosed to the public.
The Washington Post reported authorities evacuated a section of Denver International Airport while a local police department bomb squad investigates boxes that were left near the check in area, according to airport and FBI spokespeople.
The airport said in a statement that police had evacuated a section on the west side of the main terminal, and vehicle traffic was stopped on the same side. Deborah Sherman, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Denver, said bomb sniffing dogs were brought in to investigate boxes left by the check in area near American Airlines, and when the dog alerted on something amiss, the section of the airport was evacuated.
Sherman said suspicious packages at the airport are not unusual, nor would it be uncommon for a bomb sniffing dog to alert on something that turned out to be harmless. She said Denver police were leading the investigation, though the FBI was on scene.
The airport said in a statement that the American, Aero Mexico, Air Canada, Lufthansa and British Airways ticket counters were affected and flight delays were possible.
Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama ordered that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff, in honor of those killed in Tuesday’s attacks. The order will stand until sunset Saturday.
“The American people stand with the people of Brussels,” Obama said in the proclamation announcing the order. “We will do whatever it takes, working with nations and peoples around the world, to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice, and to go after terrorists who threaten our people.”