(TLP:CLEAR) CTC Sentinel – March 2026: Examining Fifty Years of Extremists Attacks on U.S. Critical Infrastructure and the Islamic State-Inspired Bondi Beach Shooting

Summary: The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point published its “Sentinel” magazine for March 2026. This latest issue analyzes 50 years of violent extremist attacks and plots against U.S. critical infrastructure. Another article examines the lessons learned from the Islamic State-inspired attack at Bondi Beach in Australia.

Analyst Note: The article on infrastructure targeting examines 50 years of violent extremist attacks and plots against U.S. critical infrastructure and industrial/commercial targets. The author utilizes an original open-source dataset (1970 to mid-2025), in which he “traces tactical evolution from arson and clandestine cells to digitally networked mobilization, firearms, and higher-casualty-risk methods.” The author finds “that critical infrastructure and adjacent industrial/commercial targets have become a shared battlefield for extremist movements motivated by differing ideologies.” Moreover, modern violent extremists have more often prioritized critical systems, especially the electric grid, for their potential to produce cascading effects.

The other relevant article details the December 14, 2025, Islamic State-inspired attack at Bondi Beach in Australia, where two supporters of the Islamic State conducted the first mass casualty terrorist attack in Australia, at a Hanukkah celebration. The authors write, “It was also the deadliest jihadi attack in a Western country since 2017, and the deadliest Islamic State attack targeting Jewish people in the movement’s history.” The authors outline what is known so far about the attack and then situate it in the context of over 25 years of jihadi activity in the country, “showing how it differs from earlier plots and attacks in crucial respects and what this means for the threat environment.”

Original Source: https://ctc.westpoint.edu/march-2026/

Additional Reading:

• The Targeting of Infrastructure by America’s Violent Far-Right
• (TLP:AMBER) Recent Extremist Targeted Attacks and Plots Highlight the Importance of Security Preparedness

Related WaterISAC PIRs: 1, 2, & 4