Summary: Despite experiencing significant organizational changes in 2019, terrorist groups overseas continued their calls for attacks against the United States and other Western interests abroad. Al-Qa’ida considers itself the de facto leader of the global jihadist movement while leaning heavily on the operations of its affiliates to motivate supporters. Despite the death of founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a US Special Operations Forces raid in October, ISIS is expected to operate similarly with multiple affiliates pledging allegiance to new leadership. In the third installment of our 2020 Terrorism Threat Assessment series, our analysts discuss the activity of these foreign terrorist groups in 2019 and what impact it will have on their operations this year.
