BioterrorismCaptured documents reveal IS’s interest in acquiring bioterror weapons

Terrorist organizations for a while now have been trying to acquire or build biological weapons of mass destruction. After the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, soldiers found at least one chemical weapons laboratory used by al-Qaeda. Now, with the growing threat of the Islamic State (IS), analysts are concerned that the Islamist group may gain access to bio-labs in Syria or Iraq.

Foreign Policy reports that Abu Ali, a leader of a moderate Syrian rebel group in northern Syria, recently found a laptop containing instructions for building bio-terror weapons. The laptop, found after the rebel group raided an IS building, belonged to Muhammed S., a Tunisian national who joined IS. Hidden in several folders on the laptop were 35,347 files containing documents and speeches of leading jihadi clerics, videos of Osama bin Laden, and practical training on how to carry out deadly campaigns. The laptop also contains documents about how to build and use biological weapons.

“The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of money, while the human casualties can be huge,” one of the document states. “Use small grenades with the virus, and throw them in closed areas like metros, soccer stadiums, or entertainment centers,” the 19-page document on biological weapons advises. “Best to do it next to the air-conditioning. It also can be used during suicide operations.”

Muhammed S., who joined IS in Syria, studied chemistry and physics at two universities in Tunisia. When FP reached out to a Tunisian university listed on Muhammed’s exam papers, a staff member confirmed his previous attendance at the University. “Did you find his papers inside Syria?” she asked, and later referred FP to Tunisian officials. At least 2,400 Tunisians are fighting in Syria, mostly as members of IS, according to Tunisia’s interior minister.

While nothing on the laptop announces IS’ acquisition of a weaponized biological agent, files on the computer show that biological weapons are tools that IS intends to get its hands on, despite control measures put in place by the United States and the international community. “The real difficulty in all of these weapons … (is) to actually have a workable distribution system that will kill a lot of people,” said Magnus Ranstorp, research director of the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College. “But to produce quite scary weapons is certainly within (the Islamic State’s) capabilities.”