(NewsWorthy.news) -Two counter-terrorism experts have warned that a terrorist attack on American soil is almost a certainty and that its death toll will be even higher than the 9/11 tragedy. A former senior FBI official and a 25-year-combat veteran who specialized in hostage rescue and terrorism have stated that the possibility of terrorists using firearms or explosives is a case of “not if but when.”
The stark warning follows the recent arrests of eight Tajik suspects by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel following an investigation that flagged “derogatory information” in their online and private communication. The eight suspects were detained after investigators were forced to either continue surveillance or arrest the suspects to avoid a worst case scenario.
The move came after extremist rhetoric was observed in several of the suspects in their communication on social media and in private. Signs of extremism were not detected by either the Department of Homeland Security or US Customs and Border Protection in their vetting process when the suspects illegally crossed the southern US border seeking asylum.
The prediction by veteran Bryan Stern, who founded the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, and Chris Swecker, who served as the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division, highlights the security risks linked to the southern border crisis. Unprecedented illegal crossings have included higher numbers foreign nationals from outside of the Americas. The eight Tajik suspects arrested will face deportation once the counter-terrorism investigation concludes.
The arrests come shortly after DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ announcement in May of a new rule that speeds up the process of blocking the asylum of those posing security risks. Mayorkas stated that the new rule provides better security for American citizens by allowing for quicker identification and removal of dangerous individuals.
The DHS was founded following 9/11, and the failure of the DHS and CBP to flag the warning signs at the border raised an alarming prospect to the two experts of terrorists exploiting the border crisis in the future and successfully orchestrating a “9/11 2.0”. Stern, who was a first responder at the scene of the attacks on the World Trade Center, noted how worrying it was that “known bad guys” apprehended by law enforcement at the border were allowed to enter the US and roam its streets. He argued that lessons were not sufficiently learned from 9/11.
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