Terror threat

'Lone wolf' terror attacks inspired by ISIS to persist in West

The threat of "lone wolf" acts of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State will persist in the West, a senior Obama administration official said Tuesday, even as the extremist group loses battles and territory in the Middle East.

Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Islamic State has always sought to strike the United States and other Western nations. But the group is now acknowledging it may be unable to hold onto ground in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, blunting its quest for an Islamic caliphate. So the Islamic State has changed its message and its recruiting tactics, he said.

"'We're still going to be around, still join us,'" said McGurk, describing what he called the Islamic State's propaganda. "And they're trying to inspire these lone wolf attacks around the world."