"They want to take down aircraft."
According to US security chief, Elaine Duke, Islamic State fanatics and other terror groups are planning another massive attack on the scale of 9/11.
Duke, who is acting Secretary of Homeland Security for US President Donald Trump, has said that these terrorists are using crude knife and van attacks to keep their members active, finances flowing and their name in the media as they begin to plot another "big explosion" similar to that of the atrocities in September 2001 when 2,996 people were killed.
She has described this as their 'interim' period.
According to the Telegraph, speaking at the US embassy in London, Duke - who has also worked under George W. Bush and Barack Obama - said that intelligence from Homeland Security is suggesting that these jihadists are plotting to take down planes in order to inflict several civilian casualties.
https://twitter.com/ukhomeoffice/status/920705288755392513
Duke said that "the terrorist organisations, be it ISIS or others, want to have the big explosion like they did on 9/11. They want to take down aircraft, the intelligence is clear on that.
"However, in the interim, they need to keep their finances flowing and they need to keep their visibility high and they need to keep their members engaged, so they are using small plots and they are happy to have small plots."
Duke added that "creating terror is their goal and so a van attack, a bladed weapon attack, causes terror and continues to disrupt the world – but does not mean they’ve given up on a major aviation plot."
Previously, she served as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management.
"Terrorists are strong, they are adaptable and the terrorist threat is the highest it has been since pre-9/11. We have got to have every tool that’s possible," Duke concluded.
