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Destiny USA taking terror threat on US malls 'very seriously'

Destiny USA

  The sixth largest shopping mall in the country says it's taking a recent call to attack Western shopping centers by a terrorist group "very seriously."

Destiny USA, in Syracuse, was not formally named by Al-Shabab, as was The Mall of America and malls in England and Canada, in a video released over the weekend. The video calls on sympathizers to the terror group to carry out the attacks. 

The head of homeland security for the United States, Jeh Johnson, said his agency is taking the threat seriously and called for increased vigilance at major shopping centers. He did not warn people to avoid them.

At the sprawling shopping center on the north side of Syracuse, Destiny USA management says it's working closely with security agencies and has stepped up security personnel on site.

Destiny USA spokeswoman Sara Wallace gave the following statement in an email to WRVO:

Destiny USA is working closely with securities agencies – and our own security team – to provide the proper controls that assure our guests are safe while on our premises. We have additional Syracuse Police and security personnel on site as we take any threats of this nature very seriously. Safety of our guests is our top priority and we will remain diligent to provide a great, comfortable experience for every guest that comes through our doors.

Al-Shabab is a terror group based in Somalia, in the Horn of Africa. It's responsible for an attack on a major shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013 that killed 67 people.