FBI Bulletin Warns Of Possible ISIS Terror Plot in Memphis

FBI Bulletin Warns Of Possible ISIS Terror Plot in Memphis

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FBI Bulletin Warns Of Possible ISIS Terror Plot in Memphis

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Posted: Dec 22, 2014 4:03 PM EST Updated: Dec 22, 2014 7:45 PM EST

By Matt Gerien, Investigative Reporter

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FBI Bulletin Warns Of Possible ISIS Terror Plot in Memphis

 

The Tennessee-Arkansas Bridge, more commonly known as the Old Bridge or the I-55 bridge.

 

FBI Bulletin Warns Of Possible ISIS Terror Plot in Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (FOX13) – - The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Memphis Division is warning police officers about a threat to blow up the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge sometime in December.  FOX13 News obtained the FBI bulletin sent to Mid-South Law Enforcement agencies warning about a possible Islamic State terror plot targeting the I-55 Bridge.

"According to an anonymous complainant, as of December 2014, ISIS instructed an ISIS member, a presumed USPER in Memphis, with a direct order to blow up the Memphis-Arkansas bridge on an unknown date, activating ISIS terror cells in the United States," the warning reads.

USPER is a law enforcement acronym for U.S. person.

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The Memphis Division's FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the threat.

"Although we received an anonymous threat, there is no actionable intelligence regarding an attack on the bridge. We take every threat seriously and whenever we receive a threat like this we take steps to inform all of our law enforcement partners," Supervisory Special Agent Joel Siskovic, spokesman for the FBI Memphis Division, told FOX13 News.

Homeland Security Officials have been warning about ISIS inspired attacks in the U.S. since this fall.

A Memphis Police spokesperson told FOX13 the department is aware of the threat and officers are patrolling the area around the bridge looking for suspicious activity.  Surveillance cameras linked the  MPD's Real Time Crime Center are focused on the bridge 24 hours a day.

The Memphis-Arkansas Bridge is a major interstate thoroughfare connecting Tennessee and Arkansas.  Nearly 56,000 cars and trucks cross the bridge daily according to Tennessee Department of Transportation statistics. And it's not just road traffic. In addition, barge traffic traveling under the bridge on the Mississippi River pumps billions of dollars into the U.S. economy according to trade groups.

The FBI is asking everyone in the region to remain vigilant.  If you see something suspicious they say to report it to police.

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