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McCaul Releases Terror Gone Viral Report 2.0

October 5, 2018

Revealing 243 ISIS-Linked Terrorism Plots Against the West Since 2014

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) released a follow-up report entitled, Terror Gone Viral 2.0, to capture the scope of ISIS' activities by providing a high-level examination of ISIS-linked plots and attacks targeting Western countries, including the United States. Over the past two years, ISIS and its adherents have been linked to 142 incidents with the number of ISIS-inspired attacks increasing to 63 percent since the Committee's initial report in 2016. Cumulatively, over the 2014 to 2018 period, ISIS has been linked to a total of 243 incidences, averaging five per month.

Chairman McCaul:"Thanks to President Trump's steadfast leadership, the United States and our allies have courageously fought terrorists on the battlefield and dismantled ISIS' self-declared caliphate. Yet the terror group's enduring ability to inspire, recruit, radicalize and plot online still remains a very real threat. Ultimately, victory requires a long-term, sustained commitment to countering its ‘viral' capabilities, while also taking the fight to them wherever they are."

The reportmakes a number of key findings, including:

  • ISIS and its adherents have been linked to 142 incidents—arrests, plots and attacks —targeting Westerners or the West over the last two years.
  • Cumulatively, over the 2014 to 2018 period covered by the Terror Gone Viral reports, ISIS has been linked to 243 incidences, averaging five terrorist incidents per month
  • Over the last two years, the number of ISIS-inspired attacks has gone-up to 63 percent
  • 22 teenagers or younger who were linked to ISIS incidents

14 ISIS-connected plots and attacks reviewed by the Committee involving refugee and asylum seekers

The 2018 report is available, here.

The 2016 report is available, here.