New Year’s Eve: Global terror alerts on the high

The fear of terrorism and possible attacks has seen security being stepped-up around the world especially with planned New Year’s Eve celebrations.

In the last one week, there have been disrupted terrorist plots, increased police presence and warnings to stay alert in major cities around the world which are considered to be targets for terrorists’ attacks.

In the United States, federal and local security officials are tightening security in high-profile locations, including New York’s Times Square and the Rose Bowl festivities near Los Angeles.

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Also in Europe, Belgium and Turkey, police informed days ago that they disrupted terrorist plots that would have targeted celebrations to ring in the New Year in the capitals of both countries.

In another development, before President Barack Obama left for his Hawaii vacation, his top security officials briefed him about a threat, originating from overseas, of possible attacks in New York, Los Angeles and Washington between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the matter.

The officials said the threat was uncorroborated and was based on a single source, and it didn’t mention specific locations in the cities. But they said they are always concerned about “soft targets” such as large gatherings and mass transit systems.

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