Europe, U.S. on edge as terror manhunt expands
New York conducted an extensive active-shooter drill with an eye toward the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Brussels extended its highest alert into Monday as major cities in Europe and the United States hunker down in the face of chilling threats of terror.
"New York City has the strongest, most agile, best-trained first responders in the world," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday after the three-hour training exercise, which included a phalanx of federal and local responders. "They're ready to protect us."
In Brussels, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel extended the highest alert level for at least another day, citing an "imminent threat" to the capital. The city was in a virtual lockdown, with commuter rails and schools ordered closed and most cultural and sports venues also shuttered.
The anxious city had a scare Sunday when a major railway station was evacuated for a suspicious package, but no explosives were found. Later, streets were sealed off in the city's tourist district due to security concerns.
"It makes no sense to try to hide it," Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said. "There is a real threat, and we will make every effort day and night to face it."
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Jambon said "several suspects" linked to the Nov. 13 Paris attacks were being sought in Belgium. The face of the manhunt belonged to suspected terrorist Salah Abdeslam. Authorities say Abdeslam, who is Belgian, fled to Brussels from Paris after the brutal attacks there left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded. One of Abeslam's brothers died in the attacks. On Sunday, another brother made a plea on Belgian TV for Salah Abdeslam to surrender.
"I prefer to see my brother in a jail rather than in a graveyard," Mohamed Abdeslam told Belgian public broadcaster RTBF.
Abdeslam said he remained unconvinced that Salah participated in the attacks. He said his brother is "very intelligent" and may have changed his mind, declining to participate in the massacre.
In jittery Paris, the sound of an explosion that forced evacuation of the central Gare du Nord train station turned out to be a bird electrocuted on the rails, the French national rail operator SNCF said. Also Sunday, French police released a photo of a man they believe was one of three terrorists who died outside the national stadium during the Nov. 13 attacks. Police are seeking the public's help in identifying him.
French authorities also have decided to continue the detention of a man who had housed some of the attackers, France24 reported. Jawad Bendaoud admitted loaning his now infamous Saint-Denis apartment to the suspected ringleaders in the attack but has said he didn't know his guests were avowed jihadists. Suspected attack mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed Wednesday in a fierce firefight with police at the apartment.
Rome and Milan were on alert after the foreign ministry warned that St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City along with some sites in Milan might be potential terror targets.
In Los Angeles, a Southwest Airlines flight from Indianapolis arrived an hour late after making an unscheduled landing in Kansas City because of behavior described as "suspicious." The airline said all passengers aboard Flight 5929 exited the plane and bomb sniffing dogs searched it but found nothing.
In Washington, D.C., Police Chief Cathy Lanier told Sixty Minutes in an interview to air later Sunday that residents should consider taking action — including shooting — if they find themselves in the midst of a terror attack.
"Your options are run, hide, or fight,” Lanier told the CBS News show. “If you’re in a position to try and take the gunman down, to take the gunman out, it’s the best option for saving lives before police can get there."
No imminent, credible threat was reported for Washington or New York, but security was tight across both cities. U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., discussing New York City, told CNN that reliable intelligence can be difficult to gather.
"We don't know what we don't know," Nunes said. "They've gotten very good at hiding from intelligence services across the world."
Contributing: Bart Jansen