Implications of Islamic State Leader’s Death on the Terrorism Landscape

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) has released a podcast discussing the implications of the recent death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the Islamic State, on the terrorism landscape. As discussed in the October 29 Security and Resilience Update, al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S.-led operation in Syria during the preceding weekend. As part of their analysis, NJOHSP staff discuss not only what al-Baghdadi’s death means for the group he once led but also for al Qa’ida. The analysts also discuss the possibility of a homegrown violent extremist in the U.S. being motivated to conduct an attack in retribution for al-Baghdadi’s death. This podcast is part of NJOHSP’s “Intelligence Unclassified” podcast series; NJOHSP invites anyone interested in its podcasts to receive notifications about new episodes by registering on its RSS feed. Listen to the podcast at NJOHSP.