NY Police Bracing for Thanksgiving Parade Amid Reports of Possible Daesh Attack

Police in New York City have received no official security warning tied to Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day parade in Manhattan and officers are well prepared to protect parade-goers, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The announcment came as the US Department of Homeland on Tuesday alerted local police departments throughout the country of potential terror attacks.

"I want to assure all New Yorkers, there is no credible and specific information of any specific threat directed at this parade. NYPD is more than ready to handle anything that is going on around us,” de Blasio stated Wednesday, referring to the New York Police Department.

New York police reportedly stepped up security for the annual parade, partly due to a photo in a Daesh magazine of a past Thanksgiving parade.

Over three thousand police officers will be present at the parade, according to New York Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Patrol Terri Monahan.

"We are going to have a very large police presence tomorrow. More than 3,000 police officers will be out there for the parade," Monahan told reporters on Wednesday.

NYPD spokesperson George Pellino told Sputnik on Tuesday that its counterterrorism unit would also be present at the parade.

NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said that no specific threats have been made to the city at this time.

US President Barack Obama and his national-security team discussed steps that federal government agencies are taking to protect Americans during the upcoming holidays, the White House said in a press release.

“He instructed the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community to maintain our relentless pressure on terrorists seeking to harm Americans,” the released added.

Thursday is the annual Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Per a tradition in US politics, Obama on Wednesday ceremoniously “pardoned” a turkey from holiday consumption.