Comey: Federal authorities disrupted Islamic State-linked July 4 plots

FBI Director James Comey testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 8.(Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that federal authorities disrupted an undisclosed number of plots timed to the July 4th holiday to "kill people in the United States."

The plots, Comey said, were linked to the Islamic State terror group.

More than 10 people have been arrested in the past four weeks on charges related to their association with ISIL.

Some of those, Comey said, involved plots timed to July 4th.

In advance of July 4th, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security had issued a warning of possible terror activity timed to the holiday.

That bulletin, the director said, was prompted by the "overall threat" posed by ISIL and other extremists.

"This is sort of the new normal," Comey said, referring to the continuing threat posed by ISIL.

He said "dozens" of suspected ISIL recruits in the U.S. have eluded the reach of federal surveillance capability as they have moved to encrypted communications with the terror group.

USA TODAY

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The director's comments come a day after testifying before members of Congress about the security risks posed by the government's limited investigative capabilities as suspects increasingly use encrypted applications to "go dark."

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