The United States could get hit by major terrorist attacks. According to the acting boss of homeland security, ISIS and other terror networks are planning to hijack and bring down a plane the same way the Al Qaeda did in 2011. According to The Independent, Elaine Duke said that ISIS and other terror organizations are employing lower level attacks such as knife attacks to raise funds and keep their Jihadists active.
ISIS could attack the US
Speaking in London, the intelligence boss said that the US faced a severe threat from terrorists. Ms. Duke stated that the ISIS is in an "interim" period as it plans for more significant attacks.
According to The Daily Mail, homeland security interim director warned that ISIS and other Islamic terrorist groups want to conduct an offense as they did on 9/11. She added that in the short term, the terrorists need to keep money flowing, maintain visibility, and keep their fighters engaged; and as such, are happy to have and employ smaller attacks.
According to Duke, ISIS and other terrorist organizations are in the business of creating terror, thus their decision to use van attacks and knife attacks to keep themselves visible to the public. She, however, added that such attacks do not indicate that the groups are not eyeing a significant aviation terror strike. Recently, the head of the British MI5 warned that the country was in the middle of an unprecedented terror war.
Duke said that the US and Britain would work with social media companies to get rid of terrorist propaganda.
Radicalization by ISIS
There are concerns that ISIS, whose propaganda has caused many people to get radicalized in Western countries, is likely to grow its presence on the internet. US-led coalition fighters kicked ISIS out of its Syrian base of Raqqa.
Despite the loss, ISIS remains a formidable threat. Duke warned that the people who have been radicalized by the group pose a more significant threat than the small number who joined it and returned to the United States. She said that the number of foreign fighters returning to the US has declined, while homegrown terrorists are on the increase.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump claimed that his presidency has caused ISIS to give up. He said that the group wasn't retreating before he assumed office. During an interview on The Chris Plante Show, Trump said that his leadership "totally changed the rules of engagement." Asked why the ISIS was not losing before, the billionaire retorted that it is because "you didn't have Trump as your president." Trump's boasts could have some truth in them because after moving into the White House, he delegated more powers to military officials on the ground in the war against terror.
