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Las Vegas on alert as police chief deems ISIS video that warns of attack on sin city a ‘credible threat’
The footage calls for lone wolf knife and truck attacks on the city's famous Strip
LAS Vegas is on alert after police deemed an ISIS video that warns of attack on sin city a "credible threat".
The footage calls for lone wolf knife and truck attacks on the West and features clips of the city's iconic Boulevard, including Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio Hotel.
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The chilling 44-minute video, which was released last week but understood to have been recorded in 2015, comes in the wake of the Manchester terror attack and ahead of Memorial Day celebrations this weekend.
Capt. Christopher Darcy, who heads up counter terrorism, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "I think anytime somebody goes on the internet and makes a threat that they're going to conduct a lone-wolf or any type of attack, it's our responsibility to view it as a credible threat.
"It would be irresponsible not to take any threat as credible, especially when made by a group such as ISIS, who has in fact carried out attacks in the past."
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He told the paper officers are stepping up patrols and surveillance across the city in an effort to make the valley a “hardened target.”
Capt. Darcy added: “I’d rather respond to 1,000 nothings than miss the one something that’s going to lead to us stopping an attack here in our valley."
The extremist propaganda video, released on May 17, shows ISIS fighters from Britain, the US, Canada, Russia and Belgium calling on Muslims living in the West to carry out attacks on civilians.
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It also features a man urging lone wolf supporters to "liberate" themselves and kill those who reject Islam by stabbing them, throwing them of buildings or mowing them down in cars.
Other famous landmarks, including New York's Times Square, also feature in the video as fighters demonstrate the group's newly developed weapons.
The video, analysed by the Middle East Research Institute, features ISIS spokesman Abu Al-Hassan Al-Muhajir calling on lone-wolf attacks.
Speaking in English but with Arabic subtitles, he is heard saying: "Know that our war with our enemy is an all out war and the interests of the enemy can be easily targeted.
"Make sure they are preoccupied with their own safety, thus diverting their attention away from your Caliphate."
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