Threat level

Carter: ISIS attacks in U.S. would be tougher to carry out

The attacks in Paris by the Islamic State group have stoked fears of a similar attack on U.S. soil, but Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday it is unlikely the militants have such capability.

“They say they have the inspiration to come here,” Carter said during a talk at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council. “Their capability (in the U.S.) is not what it is in Europe. There isn’t as much ease geographically in the movement of people.”

The attacks in the French capital on Friday, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, took the lives of at least 129 people at restaurants, a soccer stadium and a concert hall. The massacres renewed questions about how to improve intelligence gathering and anticipate future attempts by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, also called ISIS and ISIL.