U.S. defense intel chief: ISIS will step up ‘pace and lethality of attacks’ in coming months

[Valin]

Washington Times:

Kellan Howell

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

 

The head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency predicted Monday that the Islamic State terrorist group is likely to step up the “pace and lethality” of its attacks in the coming months as it moves to increase its reach outside its home base of Iraq and Syria.

 

Speaking at a security conference, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart pointed to the terror group’s expanding influence in Mali, Tunisia, Somalia, Bangladesh and Indonesia and said he believed the Islamic State could extend its operations deeper into Egypt as well.

 

“Last year, Daesh remained entrenched on Iraqi and Syrian battlefields and expanded globally to Libya, Sinai, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Caucasus,” Lt. Gen. Stewart said, using a derisive Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, Reuters reported.

 

“Daesh is likely to increase the pace and lethality of its transnational attacks because it seeks to unleash violent actions and to provoke a harsh reaction from the West, thereby feeding its distorted narrative” of a Western war against Islam, he said.

 

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[Valin]

Intelligence officials: IS determined to strike US this year
DEB RIECHMANN and RICHARD LARDNER Associated Press
Feb. 9 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of the Islamic State are determined to strike targets in the United States this year, senior U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday, telling lawmakers that a small group of violent extremists will attempt to overcome the logistical challenges of mounting such an attack.

In testimony before congressional committees, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and other officials described the Islamic State as the "pre-eminent terrorist threat." The militant group can "direct and inspire attacks against a wide range of targets around the world," Clapper said.

Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said the Islamic State will probably conduct additional attacks in Europe and then attempt the same in the U.S. He said U.S. intelligence agencies believe IS leaders will be "increasingly involved in directing attacks rather than just encouraging lone attackers."

Clapper also said al-Qaida, from which the Islamic State spun off, remains an enemy and the U.S. will continue to see cyber threats from China, Russia and North Korea, which also is ramping up its nuclear program.

 

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