U.S. Malls On Alert After The Nairobi Mall Massacre And Siege

U.S. Malls On Alert After Al-Shabab Assault In Nairobi -- Daily Beast

Miranda Green reports on the heightened security at U.S. shopping centers after the Nairobi mall siege.

The Department of Homeland Security is urging shopping malls in the United States to increase security in the aftermath of the carnage wrought by al Qaeda’s Somalia affiliate over the weekend in Nairobi.

Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, told The Daily Beast on Monday that the department contacted shopping malls Sunday to check on the precautions they were taking against mass shooters.

U.S. intelligence officials say there is no specific threat information suggesting that al Qaeda is planning a similar kind of mass shooting in American shopping malls. Nonetheless, security experts worry about copycats.

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Update: Malls mulling security boosts after Nairobi attack -- NBC

My Comment: These U.S. fears are justified .... especially since it appears that many al Shabaab supporters live and reside in the U.S..

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Countries With the Greatest Risk Of Terrorism (Graphic)

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

From RIA Novosti: The index draws on the latest and most comprehensive data available to calculate the frequency and lethality of terrorist incidents in 197 countries. The index also includes a historical component assessing the number of attacks over five years and assesses risks relating to countries’ geographic proximity to terrorist hotspots.

My Comment: The graph is from 2011 .... but it is still applicable today. As for the the British company Maplecroft that compiles these statistics, it's website is here.

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Russia President Putin Warns Of Terrorism Spilling Over From Syria

Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the CSTO. © RIA Novosti. Alexey Druzhinin

Putin Addresses Risks of Terrorism Spilling Over From Syria -- RIA Novsoti

SOCHI, September 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a gathering of Eurasian leaders on Monday that he was concerned about terrorism spreading from Syria to Russia and neighboring states.

“Rebel groups [in Syria] did not arise out of thin air and are not going to disappear. The problem of terrorism spilling over from one country to another is certainly real and can certainly affect the interests of any of our countries,” Putin said in Sochi at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance of former Soviet states.

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Update: Russia's Putin says Syria violence could hit ex-Soviet bloc -- Reuters

My Comment: While Putin and his government are worried about a Syrian spillover of terrorism into Russia .... but his big worry is this place.

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