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ISIS Supporters Publish List of US Churches Before Christmas

FBI asks local law enforcement to be extra vigilant
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 24, 2016 2:48 PM CST
ISIS Threatens US Churches This Christmas: FBI
Stock image   (Getty Images/Christian Rummel)

The country's law-enforcement agencies are being asked to be extra vigilant this holiday weekend after a list of US churches was published on pro-ISIS websites, CNN reports. In a warning issued Friday, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security say ISIS supporters "continue aspirational calls for attacks on holiday gatherings, including targeting churches." According to the Boston Herald, the FBI is looking into the "credibility" of the threats, and none are specific so far. “We continue to work closely with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners should there be any potential threat to public safety,” CBS New York quotes the FBI as stating.

CNN reports the warning was issued "out of an abundance of caution," and the list of US churches is publicly available. Meanwhile, religious leaders in Boston say their followers should show "courage" in celebrating and worshiping as normal this Christmas. “Come to church like you always planned," Rev. Mark Scott tells the Herald. "Church is the safest place you can be." (More ISIS stories.)

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