The American Hospital Association and Health-ISAC are alerting hospitals to a social media post alleging plans for a coordinated, multi-city terrorist attack on hospitals in the coming weeks.
In their joint bulletin, the organizations cited an X post made by user @AXctual that claimed the terrorist group ISIS-K (Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham–Khorasan Province) is actively planning simultaneous car bomb attacks on hospitals in the coming weeks.
The post states that the primary targets are mid-tier cities with low-security facilities.
“At this time, no information is available to either corroborate or discount this threat’s credibility,” the AHA and Health-ISAC stated in a March 20 joint news release.
The organizations emphasized that they are sharing the alert as a precaution and are in close contact with the FBI. They plan to provide updates as more details emerge and recommend hospitals heighten staff awareness of the threat.
AHA and Health-ISAC warned that while terrorist organizations typically do not announce attacks in advance, public posts like this one could inspire individuals to commit violence.
“Generally, foreign terrorist groups do not publicize their upcoming attacks. However, this widely viewed post may encourage others to engage in malicious activity directed toward the health sector, so threats of this nature should be taken seriously,” the release states. “Security teams should review emergency management plans and spread awareness of the potential threat internally.”
Although the threat remains unverified, AHA and Health-ISAC cautioned that attackers typically conduct pre-attack surveillance and target facilities with visibly weak security.
“Having a visible security presence can mitigate being chosen as a target during the planning phase of an attack,” the organizations noted.
