Islamic militants will continue plotting against US interests overseas and homegrown attacks will pose the most significant threat from violent extremists to Americans at home, the US intelligence chief says in delivering the annual assessment by intelligence agencies of the top dangers facing the country.
US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
“The perceived success of attacks by homegrown violent extremists in Europe and North America, such as those in Chattanooga and San Bernardino, might motivate others to replicate opportunistic attacks with little or no warning, diminishing our ability to detect terrorist operational planning and readiness,” James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, says in a statement prepared for delivery to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“ISIL involvement in homeland attack activity will probably continue to involve those who draw inspiration from the group’s highly sophisticated media without direct guidance from ISIL leadership,” he says, using an acronym for the militant group.
Clapper also says Iran remains the top state sponsor of terrorism, al-Qaeda-linked groups remain resilient and the US will continue to see cyber threats from China, Russia and North Korea.
— AP
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