Multiple improvised explosive devices (IED) were recently discovered at the U.S.-Mexico border as U.S. officials continue to warn that the risk of a terror attack in the U.S. remains high due to the war in the Middle East.
Fox Business reported that federal enforcement sources said that an internal safety alert went out this week that warned U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to have a heightened state of alertness after the Mexican military seized 10 IEDs at the border.
The warning said officers should “exercise extreme caution and should report any possible armed subjects approaching the border with possible explosive devices.”
The Mexican military found the explosives after U.S. Border Patrol agents reported gun fire along the border and an individual armed with an AK-47 was arrested near Tucson, the report said.
Sources told the publication that the gun battle erupted as cartels battled for control of a section of land along the border that is used for drug smuggling.
U.S. lawmakers are set to vote on a foreign aid package next week that would include funding and changes to U.S. border policy amid Biden’s historic illegal immigration crisis that was caused by his policies.
FBI Director Christopher Wray warned earlier this month that the U.S. is facing a heightened threat level from foreign terrorist organizations that can exploit the southern border following Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel.
“I am concerned that we are in an elevated threat environment, a heightened threat environment from foreign terrorist organizations for a whole host of reasons,” Wray said. “And obviously their ability to exploit any port of entry including our southwest border is a source of concern. There’s a lot of discussion about numbers and numbers are important, but let’s not forget that it didn’t take a big number of people on 9/11 to kill 3000 people. So while numbers are important, numbers don’t tell the whole story. And we have seen an increase in so-called KSTs, Known or Suspected Terrorists attempting to cross over the last five years.”