US warns of global ‘terror’ threat after French attacks

By: 10 years ago

Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, 2015, during an attack on the offices of the newspaper which left eleven dead, including two police officers, according to sources close to the investigation. AFP

WASHINGTON, United States—The United States on Friday warned Americans to beware of “terrorist actions and violence” all over the world, following the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris.

“Recent terrorist attacks, whether by those affiliated with terrorist entities, copycats, or individual perpetrators, serve as a reminder that US citizens need to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness,” the state department said.

The advisory is an update to its “Worldwide Caution” from Oct. 10, 2014, and comes after three days of bloodshed in France that started on Wednesday when heavily armed Islamist gunmen burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people.

Four people were then killed Friday at a Jewish supermarket in Paris.

The state department statement said that US-led coalition bombing raids on the radical Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria made US nationals and interests a target for reprisals, “especially in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia.”