Lone-wolf terrorist attacks were more common than ever in the West during 2024 as terrorism continues to spread across the globe, according to a new report from the Global Terrorism Index (GTI).
The GTI released its 2025 report on Wednesday, finding that the number of countries that recorded a terrorist attack grew from 58 in 2023 to 66 last year. That reverses nearly a decade of improvement on the issue, GTI said.
In the West, 93% of fatal attacks were carried out by lone wolf terrorists.
“The majority of Western attacks are now carried out by individuals without formal group affiliations, who radicalize through social media, gaming platforms and encrypted messaging apps,” GTI said in its report.
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“The shift towards online radicalization has enabled potential terrorists to access extremist content, and organize with minimal physical contact. Algorithmic radicalization on popular social media sites can drive users toward progressively more extreme content over time,” the report continued.
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The report came the same day U.S. authorities arrested a suspect who the Justice Department says confessed to scouting the attack route in 2021’s Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan, which left 13 service members dead.
ISIS-K member Mohammad Sharifullah made his first federal court appearance in Virginia Wednesday on a charge of providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death.
Sharifullah was extradited to the U.S. on Tuesday night to “face American justice,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
“3 and 1/2 years later, justice for our 13,” Patel added on X.
President Donald Trump announced Sharifullah’s capture during his address before a joint Congress on Tuesday night, saying he was “pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity.”
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