Is the Islamic State planning attack on the US amid elections? Online post 'you are next' hints at possibility

In the wake of some online posts featuring the US capitol with the caption "you are next" and the recent arrest of an Afghan man, the FBI has been on its toes amid escalating fears of the Islamic State plotting some kind of terror attack in the United States in the election month.

The Afghan man, 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, arrested by the FBI in Oklahoma, was found to be planning a shootout on an election day on behalf of the terrorist organisation Islamic State as the United States gears up for the presidential polls in November.

Tawhedi confessed that he andhis co-conspirator had planned to give up their lives as IS martyrs by open firing on the crowd on the election day, according to a report published in The Guardian.

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Also Read:US election terror attack plot: Afghan suspect Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi once worked with CIA - Reports

Speaking on the Tawhedi case, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said that there was a continuing need to “combat the ongoing threat that (IS) and its supporters pose to America’s national security”.

Meanwhile, head of MI5 Ken McCallum said that the agency had “one hell of a job” in managing the increasing threat coming from the resurgent terrorist organisation.

American targets on top of IS-K's hit list

After the arrest of Tawhedi, US officials later said that the plot was being allegedly directed by an operative of IS-Khorasan (IS-K), the Afghanistan-based branch.

IS-K also released a propaganda poster in September in which the American targets were placed at the top of its hitlist.

“[IS-K] has recently reiterated its intent to target the US with a poster depicting one of its militants holding a grenade in front of the US Capitol building captioned ‘you are next,’” said Lucas Webber, who is a senior threat intelligence analyst at watchdog organisation Tech Against Terrorism.

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“This is additionally concerning given the branch’s mass casualty attacks on Russia and Iran, leaving the United States as the remaining adversary on this shortlist for a successful external operation,” Webber added.

He emphasised that Tawhedi's arrest hinted at the “uptick” in plotting of the IS against the United States.

“This follows a Tajik [IS suspect] arrested in Costa Rica; a central Asian network rolled up in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia; as well as aCanada-based Pakistani nationalwho was allegedly plotting an attack against a New York Jewish centre," Webber said, as reported by The Guardian.

(With inputs from agencies)