On Monday, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of an increase in security at federal facilities and transportation hubs in advance of the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, as well as of new Terror Threat Snapshot from the House Homeland Security Committee detailing the growing threat to America and the West from ISIS and other Islamic terror organizations.
Some of the key takeaways in this month’s report (full PDF document here) include:
- There have been more U.S.-based jihadist terror cases in 2015 than in any full year since 9/11.
- The number of U.S. terrorist cases involving homegrown violent jihadists has gone from 38 in July, 2010 to 124 as of the date of the report’s publication. This is more than a three-fold increase in just five years.
- As of the end of August, the Islamic State continues to grow and has inspired or directed 57 terror attack plots against Western targets, including 15 in the United States.
- There have now been nearly twice as many ISIS-linked attack plots against the West this year (37) as there were in all of 2014 (20).
Additionally, Islamic terrorists remain intent on killing American law enforcement and military personnel as well as civilians. Readers will recall that last month we reported on the release of another “hit list” of American government personnel, including service members. Since early 2014, the majority of Islamist terror plots on U.S. soil have featured plans to kill police or U.S. service members. The report states that foreign fighters continue to swell the ranks of Islamist extremist groups looking to recruit foot soldiers and activate followers to launch attacks in their home countries.
UKGOV WARNS OF BRITISH JIHADIS
On Tuesday, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of a warning issued by theUK Home Office, the UK’s equivalent to the Department of Homeland Security, within which it was revealed that at least 350 British jihadis are back in the UKafter fighting and plotting terror attacks in the “ISIS-braincell of Syria.” This number accounts for approximately half of the British citizens the government has publicly acknowledged have travelled to the region since the start of the conflict.
Just one day prior, British Prime Minister David Cameron told members of parliament that six terror attacks on Britain have been foiled since the start of 2015. Britain’s Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told BBC Radio; ‘It’s extremely dangerous. These are attacks are being planned against major public events on our streets, and potential attacks on members of our armed forces and other.”
AL QAEDA RELEASES LATEST ISSUE OF ‘INSPIRE’ MAGAZINE
On Wednesday, AlertsUSA subscribers were some of the first in the nation to learn of the release of the latest issue of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) quarterly publication known as ‘Inspire’. Published around the same time, though not in tandem with, the latest issue of the Islamic State’s Dabiq magazine, this issue of Inspire’s cover story is entitled, “Assassination Operations,” within which guidance is provided on specifying a target, collecting information, generating a plan, preparing for and executing the operation.
[No, we do not provide links to these publications. They can be found easily enough online for anyone so motivated, though viewing / downloading them places one at high risk of ending up on lists you generally would prefer to avoid. Digital footprints do not fade….]
This issue also encourages “lone wolf” terrorist attacks on some of America’s most notable and wealthy businessmen, including Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett, former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Jim Walton (one of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune) and former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. As shown below, several of these individuals are depicted in blood-spattered pictures. The stated goal of such hits to derail the “revival of the American Economy.”
While readers might be inclined to roll their eyes a such a target list, it is important to note that there is compelling evidence that the Boston Marathon bombers used the publication for guidance on bomb making and target selection. Further, a 2013 issue of the publication carried a similar hit list, within which Stephane Charbonnier, the editor of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo was identified as a target. Charbonnier was killed in January of this year when Islamic radicals carried out a raid on the Paris offices of the publication. The target list was republished a few days later via Twitter accounts commonly used for al-Qaeda propaganda with Charbonnier’s name and face X’d out.
AL QAEDA’S APPEAL TO BLACK AMERICANS
This issue of Inspire also carries an extensive piece levegaging off of growing racial tensions in America. Entitled, “The Blacks in America,” the article provides a narrative of the history of injustices suffered by African-Americans from colonial times through to recent killings of known thugs such as Michael Brown and the brutal mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Then the pitch is made compelling black Americans to embrace Islam & kill “racist politicians.”
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AlertsUSA continues to monitor the overall domestic and international terrorism threat environment and will immediately notify service subscribers via SMS messages of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.
Manifest Injustice 