FBI chief: Islamic State group bigger threat than al-Qaida
In this image made from a militant video posted on YouTube on Friday, April 3, 2015, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, a militant hammers away at a face on a wall in Hatra, a large fortified city recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, 68 miles southwest of Mosul, Iraq. Islamic State extremists at Iraq's ancient city of Hatra destroyed the archaeological site by smashing sledgehammers into its walls and shooting Kalashnikov assault rifles at priceless statues, a new militant video purportedly from the group shows.
ASPEN, Colorado >> The FBI director says the Islamic State group’s effort to inspire troubled Americans to kill at home has become more of a terror threat to the U.S. than an external attack by al-Qaida.
FBI Director James Comey told an audience at the Aspen Security Forum that the Islamic State group has seen success in recent months after a yearlong social media campaign to radicalize disaffected Americans and Europeans. He said the FBI had made a number of arrests over the last eight weeks of people who had been radicalized and has hundreds of investigations pending.
Comey’s remarks signal a deepening concern about the impact of the Islamic State’s effort to inspire terrorist violence. As recently as September, senior U.S. intelligence officials were downplaying the group’s capacity to attack the U.S.
