The NYPD is investigating selfie featuring ISIS symbol outside the Metropolitan museum of art
A selfie clicked by a man wearing a scarf with an Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS) symbol on it, standing on the sidewalk outside the Upper East Side of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, has led the New York Police Department (NYPD) to investigate the matter.
The photo went viral after it was uploaded to a pro-ISIS channel on the mobile messaging app Telegram on Dec. 30, with the caption: “We are in your home.”
According to a report in the New York Daily News, Eric Feinberg, the co-founder of GIPEC, a cyber-intelligence firm that keeps track of terrorism-related hashtags, said the photo went viral on social media Saturday night.
Feinberg affirmed that such photos usually spread fear among people, and encourage lone wolf terrorists to attack and spread violence.
“Maybe it’s Photoshopped, maybe it’s not. It should be taken seriously,” he added, noting that the photo was not yet verified.
An NYPD spokesman Tuesday told the New York Daily News: “The NYPD is aware of the photograph. As with all terror related threats, the NYPD is looking into the incident. At this time there are no credible threats related to New York City.”
The photograph surfaced after a video was released by ISIS, with shots of New York, calling for bomb and knife attacks during the holiday season across the city.
The image in the video showed an ISIS soldier holding a knife with the caption, “it’s cheaper than a chainsaw.” The video provided a list of churches, nightclubs, and stadiums that could be targeted, the Daily Mail reported. According to the report, it called upon the supporters of the group in the West to use pressure cookers loaded with bombs, knives, and firearms for attacks.
According to the report in the Daily Mail, the image outside the museum was provided to the Mail Online by the terror-monitoring group called MEMRI.
Last month, a suspected 27-year-old cab driver Akayed Ullah from Staten Island inspired by ISIS set off a pipe bomb explosion near Times Square and the Port Authority Bus Terminal during rush hour to target innocent people. Ullah was a Bangladeshi national who moved to the U.S. in 2011. Four people were injured in the blast, including Ullah himself.
According to a report in the Guardian, a cousin of the alleged attacker told reporters he was shocked to know his relative was involved in the attack.
He told the publication: “Ullah’s father, my uncle was a freedom fighter. He fought for the liberation of the country.”
“He ran a grocery store in Dhaka before moving to the U.S. It’s shocking to know his son launched the terror attack,” the cousin added.
According to reports, Bangladesh condemned the attack and said: “A terrorist is a terrorist irrespective of his or her ethnicity or religion, and must be brought to justice.”
Source: IBTimes
