TerrorismJuly 2016 terrorism: The numbers

Published 2 August 2016

The House Homeland Security Committee has just released its August Terror Threat Snapshot. The snapshot, produced by the Majority Staff of the committee, is a monthly committee assessment of the threat America, the West, and the world face from ISIS and other Islamist terrorists.

The House Homeland Security Committee has just released its August Terror Threat Snapshot. The snapshot is a monthly committee assessment of the threat America, the West, and the world face from ISIS and other Islamist terrorists.

The document is produced by the Majority Staff of the committee. It is based on information culled from open source materials, including media reports, publicly available government statements, and nongovernmental assessments.

Key points

  • Islamist terrorists have waged a deadly campaign of violence, particularly in Europe where ISIS-linked terrorists launched four separate attacks over a two-week period in July.ISIS supporters in France killed a priest in Normandy and dozens of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice; in Germany, they conducted two separate attacks. These strikes in Europe followed whatwas the deadliest post-9/11 Islamist terror attack on American soil inJune.
  • ISIS and al Qaeda continue to operate in safe havens that can serve as launching pads for external operations.ISIS’s unprecedented social media capabilities and propaganda are also accelerating its ability to inspire globalaudiences.
  • Islamist terror operatives deployed posing as refugees and radicalized refugees haveconducted attacks inside Europe. Refugees living in Germany recently executed two separate attacks on a passenger train and at a musicfestival.
  • The Obama administration has continued to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees overseas.Less than 80 detainees remain at the terror detention facility; around a third of them have reportedly been cleared fortransfer.
  • The Iranian regime continues to host senior al Qaeda members in Iran.Several alQaeda members involved in financial and weapons transfers are actively operating insideIran.

 

Home-grown Islamist extremism

  • FBI Director James Comey estimated in May 2016 that around 80 percent of the Bureau’s more than 1,000 active homegrown terror investigations are linked to ISIS. Attacks directed or inspired by ISIS represent “the greatest threat to the physical safety of Americans today,” he added in July2016.
  • Since September 11, 2001, there have been at least 163 homegrown jihadist plots in the United States, including attempts to join terrorist groups overseas and execute attacks at home. Morethan 86 percent of these cases have occurred or been uncovered since2009 (This figure is based on open-source data compiled by the Congressional Research Service and the Majority Staff of the Homeland Security Committee.