Terrorist threat/ Terrorists found refuge in failed Middle Eastern states from where they can plan attacks on the West

There is heightened risk of terrorist attacks in the West due to the proliferation and sophistication of jihadist groups, US Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers said Wednesday.

“You have multiple groups sponsoring attacks, that competition for leadership of the global jihad,” Vickers said at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, pointing out that “attacks in the West in particular are high on their list and increasing in priority.”

Terrorist attacks can take time plan and execute, Vickers said, pointing to the terrorist violence in Paris earlier this month as an example of the style of attacks likely to take place against Western targets in the future. Syria has become a “magnet” for jihadists, Vickers noted, arguing al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have found refuge in failed Middle Eastern states from where they can plan attacks on the West.

US Defense Says Jihadist Groups May 

Carry Out More Terror Attacks on West