As part of its monthly Terror Threat Snapshot, the House Homeland Security Committee recently emphasized the need for vigilance in keeping the U.S. safe against terrorist and fundamentalist threats originating from home and abroad.
The report said that as the struggle against ISIS continues and they lose more territory in Syria, the terrorist group’s ability and willingness to go after Western targets has only increased, with approximately 83 attack plots against the West since 2014 and two dozen ISIS-linked attack plots inside the U.S., where authorities have reportedly arrested more than 80 ISIS-linked suspects.
The report also warns of the growing threat of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, where it is taking advantage of the instability of the country to cultivate sanctuaries like those in Afghanistan in 2001.
“The alarming rise of Islamist extremists has spawned a deadly terror campaign across the globe,” Committee Chairman McCaul (R-TX) said. ”Sadly, we again have seen the resulting carnage recently in Brussels, Jerusalem, and Kabul. Our enemies are continuing to exploit growing instability and the retreat of American leadership. ISIS terror operatives have deployed from their Syrian safe havens and exploited security gaps to infiltrate and infest Europe. Al Qaeda thrives amidst the war in Yemen, methodically carving out greater sanctuary. The Iranian regime, empowered by a dangerous nuclear deal, grows increasingly belligerent as it tries to extract more undeserved economic concessions. Reversing this dangerous course remains an urgent imperative for homeland security and for our broader interests around the world.”