Osama bin Laden’s approaching death anniversary puts Feds on alert
A recently erected martyrdom poster honoring Osama Bin Laden and Hamas co-founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin adorns a main street in Rafah near to the Egyptian border on August 21, 2011 in Rafah, Gaza.
Osama bin Laden's approaching death anniversary has put Federal intelligence officials on alert, though there have been no specific or credible terrorist threats surrounding the May 1 date, NBC News reported.
On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed after a team of Navy SEALs stormed his compound in Pakistan, according to NBC News. Officials said the al-Qaeda leader's body was buried at sea.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security released an advisory late on Wednesday that said authorities were concerned that "lone wolf" terrorists may try to avenge bin Laden's death, according to CBS News.
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"At this time, we have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, are plotting attacks in the US to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death," Whitehouse spokesperson Jay Carney said in a statement Wednesday, ABC News reported. "However, we assess that AQ affiliates and allies remain intent on conducting attacks on the homeland, possibly to avenge the death of bin Laden, but not necessarily tied to the anniversary."
Officials stressed that the advisory was released out of "an abundance of caution," and not as a result of any known threats, Agence France Presse reported.
AFP reported that Obama asked his team to "continue taking all necessary measures to protect the American people," according to Carney's statement.
Bin Laden had been in hiding at his Abbottabad compound with his three wives, children, and grandchildren for nearly 10 years before he was found by US forces, according to the Associated Press.
His surviving wives and children were deported from Pakistan today.
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