The Al Shabaab terror group has released a video calling for a terrorist attack on the Mall of America:

A new video from Al Shabaab purportedly shows the terror group calling for an attack on Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minn.

According to Fox 9, the mall is one of three similar targets the terror group specifically names, including West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Oxford Street shopping area in London.

The video purportedly shows 6 minutes of graphic images and the terrorists celebrating the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, that killed more than 60 people.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson confirmed the threat:

Shoppers at the Mall of America need to be “particularly careful” after a terror group singled out the Minnesota super-mall for attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says.

During an interview Sunday with CNN “State of the Union” host Gloria Borger, he cautioned shoppers who plan to visit the mall that Al-Shabaab included on a list of targets in a video released this weekend.

“If anyone is planning to go to the Mall of America today, they’ve got to be particularly careful,” Johnson said. “There will be enhanced security there, but public vigilance, public awareness and public caution in situations like this is particularly important, and it’s the environment we’re in, frankly.”

Counter-terrorism experts have long expected an attack on soft targets in the United States. It’s simply a matter of where and when and how bad it is going to be before the terrorists are wiped out. We have the ability—and I would argue, the responsibility—to make such an attack as difficult as possible.

There are more than 11 million concealed carriers in the United States, but only a very small percentage of concealed carriers carry a significant portion of the time. Typically, concealed carriers leave their handguns in their gun safes until they anticipate going somewhere out of there normal “safe” areas, or out at night.

As we now live under the increased threat of Islamic domestic terrorism, it is my belief that more citizens should get quality handgun training and obtain their concealed carry permits. Concealed carriers who already have their permits should begin carrying with more regularity, and may want to consider upgrading what they carry on a daily basis.

In my case, I decided that the Kahr 9mm that I’d been carrying simply wasn’t enough gun. While it might be effective against a lone mugger inside seven yards, I wanted to have a firearm with a greater sight radius and a higher magazine capacity, a handgun that I felt confident that I could make hits with out to 25 or 35 yards (from prone).

I already had the Walther PPQ that I became very familiar with in my Gunsite 250 Pistol course, so my upgrade was simply a matter of choosing to walk out of the house with a different handgun. I’ve also started carrying a second spare magazine, and added a quality lightweight flashlight to my everyday carry.

Do I have any illusions that I’d be well equipped to take on and defeat a team of Islamic terrorists armed with rifles or shotguns and IEDs if I’m armed with just a handgun? No, I don’t.

But I do think that I stand a slightly better chance of making their day a little more difficult. If they run into a couple of concealed carriers, off-duty law enforcement officers, and the armed police patrols in and near so many malls these days, time can be bought for families to escape.

Al Shabaab wants to create another Westgate Mall Attack. I’m hoping that if such an attack does happen, that another hero like the off-duty SAS officer with a handgun will emerge to save lives that might otherwise be lost.

The terrorists have made their intentions quite clear. You have the choice of gambling that it won’t affect you—and you’ll probably be right—but I’ve never been much of a gambler.