Al Qaeda militants are expected to strike quickly in response to Osama bin Laden's death, both as retaliation and to demonstrate that they will remain relevant even in the absence of their ideological leader.
In a sign of the urgency of the threat, the elite Marine Corps' Chemical Biological Incident Response Force was called back last night from Japan, where they have been supporting radiation remediation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant site. The unit is back in the U.S. and ready to respond to any potential emergency as a result of the attack, ABC News reports.
Attacks are expected to come from both the Al Qaeda core - a centralized cadre of leaders based Afghanistan and Pakistan - and its affiliates across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Security analysts have also warned about the possibility of so-called "lone wolf" attacks from Al Qaeda supporters not directly affiliated with a specific terrorist network.
The heightened threat also triggered security alerts from American law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
In Pakistan, the U.S. embassy and several consulates were closed Monday. Patrol cars, paramilitary forces and commandos are searching motorists and passersby outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Bloomberg reports.
U.S. embassies across the globe are on high alert and the State Department issued a worldwide travel alert, urging Americans to limit travel and avoid mass gatherings in volatile areas.
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are on high alert for domestic threats, though DHS does not plan to issue an NTAS warning, Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement Monday.
Local law enforcement agencies across the country say they are being vigilant about suspicious activity and possible security breaches.
The NYPD has beefed up security at Ground Zero and last night's midnight shift was held over this morning to increase police presence in the subway. Police in Washington, D.C. have also increased security around the subway, hotels and federal buildings. In L.A. and Philadelphia, law enforcement officials say they have ramped up patrols around mosques and synagogues.
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