ICT's Publications

This paper will examine the risk posed by the Islamic State (IS) for using a chemical weapon against Israel in the near term (next two-three years).  Risk is determined by the threat (intent and capability) and vulnerability. The paper will cover lightly the Islamic nomenclature and justifications used by Islamic terrorist groups for using Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) since this has been well documented in the literature.

On July 12, 2015, authorities in Kosovo cut off water supplies to the country’s capital, Pristina, due to fears that a terrorist cell with links to the Islamic State (ISIS) may have contaminated the city’s main source of water at Badovac Lake.  The artificial lake sits just ten kilometers southeast of Pristina and is an essential source of water for both the capital and its surrounding towns.

After the deadly chemical attack in Ghouta, last August 2013, the Syrian government agreed to destroy all of its chemical weapons. Even though by April 2014, 92,5% of Syria's chemical arsenal had been destroyed and as Syria approaches the end of the chemical arms removal program, the world has witnessed a sudden resurgence of chemical strikes, with a marked hike last April. 

This report is the first part of an ICT project intended to evaluate the threat of proliferation of Syrian chemical weapons to local and regional terrorist organizations and beyond. The report includes information on the status of chemical weapons in Syria and their use updated to mid-June 2013 and an addendum presenting the main points of the United States and French intelligence communities' evaluation concerning the August 21, 2013 chemical attacks in the suburbs of Damascus.

Since the uprising began in Syria in March 2011, more than 100,000 people have been killed, 1.6 million people have fled the country becoming refugees, and 4.25 million people are internally displaced. President Assad faces opposition from the Free Syrian Army as well as a coalition opposition group called the Syrian National Coalition. The United States military believes that there are 50 chemical weapon and production sites across the country with one of the main centers at Al Safir that could be at risk