House Homeland Security Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Wednesday released a monthly terror threat “snapshot” report to give insight into potential threats the country and its allies are currently facing.
“The recent arrest in Maryland of an ISIS supporter plotting to kill a U.S. service member and the attacks in Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey are stark reminders that Americans face a serious Islamist terror threat at home,” McCaul said. “The alarming surge of ISIS and al Qaeda-linked violence across the West is, in large part, fueled by a jihadist movement that is deeply entrenched in critical regions across the globe. Not to be outdone, hostile state actors like Russia and Iran continue to exploit a power vacuum, extending their own influence at America’s expense while also stoking the very conflicts that help sustain terrorist groups.”
Key takeaways from the report include evidence that ISIS’ ability to spread terror in the West has not been significantly diminished while Islamist terrorists continue to sit atop a global jihadist network. The report also found that a “terrorist diaspora” from nations like Syria and Iraq will remain a significant threat for many years and that former Guantanamo Bay detainees are continuing to return to the jihadist battlefield against American targets.
The report also found that Iran continues to threaten the United States and undermine its interests by sponsoring terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East.