US officials warn of ISIS' new caliphate: cyberspace
WASHINGTON - The collapse of Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate has not diminished the militant group's ability to inspire attacks on Western targets via the internet, US national security officials told senators on Wednesday.
The Sunni Muslim extremist group has been building its external operations over the past two years and has claimed or been linked to at least 20 attacks against Western interests since January, said Lora Shiao, acting director of intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center.
"Unfortunately, we don't see ISIS' loss of territory translating into a corresponding reduction in its inability to inspire attacks," she told a US Senate committee.
"ISIS' capacity to reach sympathizers around the world through its robust social media capability is unprecedented and gives the group access to large numbers of HVEs," Shiao said, using the government's acronym for homegrown violent extremists.
