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FBI chief shares alarming warning of Russian concert hall style terror attack

05 June 2024 , 08:07
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Christopher Wray has warned of a Russian concert hall attack on the US (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Christopher Wray has warned of a Russian concert hall attack on the US (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

A Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing with FBI Director Christopher Wray has unveiled alarming intelligence that suggests a potential surge in terror threats, including the possibility of an attack akin to the devastating Russian concert hall incident orchestrated by ISIS-K.

During the intense session, Trump-appointed FBI chief Wray highlighted a worrying uptick in both domestic and international dangers. He pointed out the "cartels pushing fentanyl drugs," the menace of ransomware and cyberattacks, escalating crime rates, " China stealing intellectual property," and a rise in threats against Jewish and Muslim communities since October 7.

Wray chillingly referenced the March 2024 attack in Russia by ISIS-K on a concert hall, where masked assailants unleashed a barrage of gunfire on the crowd, resulting in the tragic loss of 140 lives. The focus of the meeting with the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies was the FBI's financial plan, seeking an $11.3 billion (£8.84bn) budget for 2025, marking a $661 million (£517m) increase from the previous year.

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FBI chief shares alarming warning of Russian concert hall style terror attack eidekiqtiqrtprwChristopher Wray issued the warning at the United States Senate Committee (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Addressing the subcommittee, Wray acknowledged their efforts to trim the FBI's funding but cautioned them, reminding the panel that his department is operating "almost $500 million dollars below what the FBI needs just to sustain... 2023 efforts." Discussing the budgetary requirements to tackle terror threats, Wray highlighted that threats emerging post-October 7 have the potential to escalate within the US.

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"Now, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K[horasan] attack we saw at the Russia Concert Hall in March," he warned. In an April meeting, Wray had previously cautioned about a similar terror threat, confessing that "lone actors or small radicalized groups" on American soil could be inspired to execute a terror attack in a public place. His comments come as he discloses that the threat environment facing the US is at an unprecedented level.

FBI chief shares alarming warning of Russian concert hall style terror attackCrocus City Hall concert venue was under attacked by terrorists (Anadolu via Getty Images)

While asserting that the FBI's primary focus remains terrorism, Wray also touched upon the battle against fentanyl. As per the NIH, law enforcement seized individual pills containing fentanyl at a rate 2,300 times higher in 2023 compared to 2017, with a staggering 115,562,603 pills confiscated in 2023 versus 49,657 in 2017.

The director estimated that his department is currently handling "got close to 400 investigations just into cartel leadership." He added: ""ime and again, we're seizing enough fentanyl to wipe out entire states. We need funding to continue thwarting the range of threats emanating from the border-fentanyl, gangs like MS-13, and human trafficking."

Yelena Mandenberg

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