NYC RAISES TERROR THREAT PROTECTION DURING PESACH DUE TO ISRAELI-IRANIAN TENSIONS

JPOST/AP: NYC police worries over terror threats

Concerns that Muslim extremist groups might retaliate against civilians in the city's Jewish community if Israel were to attack Iran's nuclear facilities prompted the NYPD to put together a response plan that includes deploying extra officers, including heavily armed Hercules Teams, to synagogues, Jewish community centers and Israeli diplomatic offices.

The nation's largest police department revealed for the first time this week that it took similar precautions in 2008 after senior Hizbullah terrorist Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Syria. The group blamed Israel for Mughniyeh's death.

"Just in case there was some kind of retaliation in New York, we had an operational plan that was implemented within hours of knowing he was hit," Mitch Silber, a top NYPD intelligence analyst, said Friday at a briefing about security measures for Pessah.

There have been no specific threats reported against the city for the holiday, which starts at sundown Wednesday. But officials say the NYPD, since sharpening its focus on anti-terrorism after the September 11, 2001, attacks, has kept a constant eye on militant groups like Hizbullah for signs they might attack the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

HIZBALLAH HAS ATTACKED JEWISH SITES OVERSEAS BEFORE:

Hoping to get a better understanding of terror tactics, the department sent a three-member Intelligence Division team headed by Assistant Commissioner Lawrence Sanchez to Argentina in 2008 to confer with authorities about two notorious attacks there.

The first was the deadly 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy, which came after Israel assassinated a Hizbullah leader. The other was a 1994 community center bombing, purportedly organized by Mughniyeh, that occurred after Israel aptured a Hizbullah leader in Lebanon.

The detectives were struck by how the attacks occurred on the other side of the globe within weeks of possible provocation a quick turnaround that suggested reconnaissance on South America's largest Jewish community had been done much earlier in anticipation it would come in handy later.

The NYPD believes similar surveillance might have already occurred in New York.

REMEMBER: HIZBALLAH IS A RELIGIOUS PARTY IN LEBANON WITH MP'S WHO HAVE RECENTLY MET WITH LABOUR MP'S FROM GREAT BRITAIN!

[BTW: I HAVE NOTICED MANY MANY MORE HEAVILY ARMEND HERCULES TEAMS ALL OVER NYC FOR TWO WEEKS - (NOT NEAR ANY JEWISH SITES)... THIS MIGHT BE A COVER STORY FOR OTHER INTEL' WARNINGS. WHICH WOULD EXPLAIN WHY THE NYPD WENT PUBLIC.]