Weapons & Tactics

Gun. Knife. Bomb. Vehicle-Ramming. Suicide Attack. Mixed Method Assault. Terrorists face a variety of choices when it comes to weapons and tactics. Learn more about trade-offs and specific preferences.

April 2, 2020

Small Groups, Big Weapons: The Nexus of Emerging Technologies and Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism

Stephen Hummel, F. John Burpo

July 11, 2018

The Islamic State and Drones: Supply, Scale, and Future Threats

Don Rassler

February 13, 2018

Targeted Terror: The Suicide Bombers of al-Shabaab

Jason Warner, Ellen Chapin

August 9, 2017

Exploding Stereotypes: The Unexpected Operational And Demographic Characteristics of Boko Haram’s Suicide Bombers

Jason Warner, Hilary Matfess

June 29, 2020

Pandemic Preparedness: A U.K. Perspective on Overlaps with Countering Terrorism

Nikita Malik

May 29, 2020

The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies

Mette Mayli Albæk, Puk Damsgård, Mahmoud Shiekh Ibrahim, Troels Kingo, Jens Vithner

March 24, 2020

Addressing the Enemy: Al-Shabaab’s PSYOPS Media Warfare

Christopher Anzalone

February 27, 2020

“Breaking the Walls” Goes Global: The Evolving Threat of Jihadi Prison Assaults and Riots

Bennett Clifford, Caleb Weiss

January 31, 2017

The Islamic State’s Drone Documents: Management, Acquisitions, and DIY Tradecraft

Don Rassler, Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, Vera Mironova

August 29, 2014

Three ISI Administrative Documents

Abu Layla

Rosters of 6 ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Unknown

Rosters of ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Unknown

Roster Shows Weapons Distributions to ISI Personnel

Unknown

January 24, 2018

New York Times article features findings from CTC Sentinel

October 27, 2017

New York Times article features CTC report findings

Hilary Matfess, Jason Warner

August 12, 2017

Newsweek publishes article on CTC report findings

August 10, 2017

CTC’s new report featured by CNN

July 11, 2018

CTC publishes new report on Islamic State and drones

March 7, 2017

Choose Your Weapon: the Impact of Strategic Considerations and Resource Constraints on Terrorist Group Weapon Selection

Gabriel Koehler-Derrick, Daniel Milton

January 31, 2017

CTC Perspectives examines new documents on Islamic State drone program

October 20, 2016

Weapons & Tactics

Major Reports

Small Groups, Big Weapons: The Nexus of Emerging Technologies and Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism

The Islamic State and Drones: Supply, Scale, and Future Threats

Targeted Terror: The Suicide Bombers of al-Shabaab

Exploding Stereotypes: The Unexpected Operational And Demographic Characteristics of Boko Haram’s Suicide Bombers

Sentinel Articles

Pandemic Preparedness: A U.K. Perspective on Overlaps with Countering Terrorism

The Controller: How Basil Hassan Launched Islamic State Terror into the Skies

Addressing the Enemy: Al-Shabaab’s PSYOPS Media Warfare

“Breaking the Walls” Goes Global: The Evolving Threat of Jihadi Prison Assaults and Riots

Perspectives

The Islamic State’s Drone Documents: Management, Acquisitions, and DIY Tradecraft

Primary Sources

Three ISI Administrative Documents

Rosters of 6 ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Rosters of ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Roster Shows Weapons Distributions to ISI Personnel

Media Coverage

New York Times article features findings from CTC Sentinel

New York Times article features CTC report findings

Newsweek publishes article on CTC report findings

CTC’s new report featured by CNN

Other Commentary

CTC publishes new report on Islamic State and drones

Choose Your Weapon: the Impact of Strategic Considerations and Resource Constraints on Terrorist Group Weapon Selection

CTC Perspectives examines new documents on Islamic State drone program

CTC releases new report on drones

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