March 7,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in a March 6th warning the NJ Department of Homeland Security “ISIS: Weaponizing UAVs” warns over the possible use of Weaponized Drones.
In the warning, NJDHS says, “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will likely continue refining its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities and touting successes as proofs of concept for future operations. Since February, ISIS claims it has conducted approximately 80 UAV attacks in Iraq and Syria, killing approximately 40 and injuring 100. The UAVs are primarily quadcopters, which can be easily purchased online and customized to drop small explosive munitions.
ISIS has conducted surveillance with commercial drones since 2014, according to West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center, and the group has advanced its UAV program by experimenting with weaponization in 2015-16 and industrializing the drone production this year.”
ISIS is posting videos ,on January 24, ISIS released the video “Knights of the Dawawin,” showing militants using a Chinese Skywalker X8 drone and dropping explosives on US-led coalition forces and armored vehicles.
And now instructions are in English. Recent ISIS English-language propaganda provides operational “how-to” guides intended to inspire homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) in the United States—an avenue the group will likely expand to weaponized drones. In November 2016, ISIS released a guide outlining effective methods for carrying out vehicular assaults, which resulted in HVE Mohammed Naji plotting to use a truck to target the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City.
On February 1, ISIS released an image called the “Islamic State Nightmare,” featuring fighters preparing to launch a UAV over an image of the Statue of Liberty.