Just as Americans might have thought that the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) was not much of a threat, the FBI has reportedly warned of an attack to bomb a bridge near Memphis, Tenn.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned local law enforcement of a possible IS (a.k.a. ISIS or ISIL) attempt to destroy the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge in December, according to Fox 13, a Memphis affiliate.
It’s not clear the message was meant to become public, as Fox 13 said it obtained the information through an FBI memo sent to local police.
FOX13 has obtained an FBI bulletin sent to police departments warning of a threat received about ISIS possibly bombing a bridge this month
— Matt Gerien (@MattGerien) December 22, 2014
#BREAKING: The @fbi is warning area police about a possible ISIS terror attack targeting a Memphis Bridge. pic.twitter.com/2cOulJusRN
— Matt Gerien (@MattGerien) December 22, 2014
There’s little other information to go on, save that the FBI received the message from an anonymous tip and that the prospective bomber would be a U.S. person.
IS quickly rose to infamy earlier in the year for its brutal beheadings of several westerners, including American aid workers, and its rapid expansion in parts of war-torn Iraq and Syria. But its advances have slowed recently, possibly in part because of a November U.S. airstrike in Iraq that only recently was confirmed to have killed two top-level leaders.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons