The terrorist attack Tuesday at Istanbul's main international airport were "most likely" conducted by ISIS, and closer attention needs to be paid at such "last point of departure airports," House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul said Wednesday morning.
"This was like a sequel to Brussels, but a far more deadly attack," the Texas Republican told
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show. "This pace of terrorism is just really unprecedented, and it's all too common that we're seeing it happen all throughout Europe as well and in the United States."
When it comes to airports, McCaul said, "ISIS has now identified a soft target like they hit in Brussels. I believe this is most likely an ISIS attack just yesterday in Istanbul and it's very hard to harden that kind of soft target."
He told the program there were two layers of checkpoints at the Istanbul airport, and the suicide bombers were able to still get into the facility's second level of security.
"We don't even have that in the United States," said McCaul. "What we're doing currently, you'll see it particularly in New York right now is the NYPD forces, TSA, these law enforcement teams ramping up a presence in the outer perimeter along with canine units.
"And the fact is intelligence is always key. If you know about these guys before they show up, that's the best way to stop these attacks rather than responding after the fact. "
Meanwhile, Turkey has become a target after taking a different response on ISIS, said McCaul, explaining that for a while, Turkey was the epicenter for foreign fighters heading from Syria into Europe. However, now ISIS is attacking Turkey, and that country's new stance has "put them in the bullseye and made them a target," he continued.
And in the United States, most Americans don't feel safe, McCaul said.
"I think we need to combat radicalization within the United States so we don't see these kind of attacks happening here and also harden our airport screening, foreign screening at airports," the lawmaker said. "There are so any things we need to be doing. But the fact is this sort of rise of radical jihad is global and it's not going away any time soon."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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