Weapons & Tactics

Gun. Knife. Bomb. Vehicle-Ramming. Suicide Attack. Mixed Method Assault. Terrorists face a variety of choices when it comes to weapons and tactics. Learn more about trade-offs and specific preferences.

April 21, 2022

Iran Entangled: Iran and Hezbollah’s Support to Proxies Operating in Syria

Nakissa Jahanbani, Suzanne Weedon Levy

October 15, 2020

Desert Drift, Declining Deadliness: Understanding the Evolution of AQIM’s Suicide Bombings

Jason Warner, Ellen Chapin, Caleb Weiss

April 2, 2020

Small Groups, Big Weapons: The Nexus of Emerging Technologies and Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism

Stephen Hummel, F. John Burpo

July 11, 2018

The Islamic State and Drones: Supply, Scale, and Future Threats

Don Rassler

October 6, 2024

Tehran’s Tactical Knockout: Weaponized Pharmaceutical-Based Agents

Matthew Levitt

June 28, 2024

Printing Terror: An Empirical Overview of the Use of 3D-Printed Firearms by Right-Wing Extremists

Yannick Veilleux-Lepage

February 22, 2024

Going the Distance: The Emergence of Long-Range Stand-Off Terrorism

Don Rassler

December 21, 2023

The Future of Terrorist Use of Improvised Explosive Devices: Getting in Front of an Evolving Threat

Austin C. Doctor, Sam Hunter

January 31, 2017

The Islamic State’s Drone Documents: Management, Acquisitions, and DIY Tradecraft

Don Rassler, Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, Vera Mironova

August 29, 2014

Three ISI Administrative Documents

Abu Layla

Rosters of 6 ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Unknown

Rosters of ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Unknown

Roster Shows Weapons Distributions to ISI Personnel

Unknown

January 24, 2018

New York Times article features findings from CTC Sentinel

October 27, 2017

New York Times article features CTC report findings

Hilary Matfess, Jason Warner

August 12, 2017

Newsweek publishes article on CTC report findings

August 10, 2017

CTC’s new report featured by CNN

July 11, 2018

CTC publishes new report on Islamic State and drones

March 7, 2017

Choose Your Weapon: the Impact of Strategic Considerations and Resource Constraints on Terrorist Group Weapon Selection

Gabriel Koehler-Derrick, Daniel Milton

January 31, 2017

CTC Perspectives examines new documents on Islamic State drone program

October 20, 2016

Weapons & Tactics

Major Reports

Iran Entangled: Iran and Hezbollah’s Support to Proxies Operating in Syria

Desert Drift, Declining Deadliness: Understanding the Evolution of AQIM’s Suicide Bombings

Small Groups, Big Weapons: The Nexus of Emerging Technologies and Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism

The Islamic State and Drones: Supply, Scale, and Future Threats

Sentinel Articles

Tehran’s Tactical Knockout: Weaponized Pharmaceutical-Based Agents

Printing Terror: An Empirical Overview of the Use of 3D-Printed Firearms by Right-Wing Extremists

Going the Distance: The Emergence of Long-Range Stand-Off Terrorism

The Future of Terrorist Use of Improvised Explosive Devices: Getting in Front of an Evolving Threat

Perspectives

The Islamic State’s Drone Documents: Management, Acquisitions, and DIY Tradecraft

Primary Sources

Three ISI Administrative Documents

Rosters of 6 ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Rosters of ISI Personnel and Weapons and Vehicles They Received in Diyala Province

Roster Shows Weapons Distributions to ISI Personnel

Media Coverage

New York Times article features findings from CTC Sentinel

New York Times article features CTC report findings

Newsweek publishes article on CTC report findings

CTC’s new report featured by CNN

Other Commentary

CTC publishes new report on Islamic State and drones

Choose Your Weapon: the Impact of Strategic Considerations and Resource Constraints on Terrorist Group Weapon Selection

CTC Perspectives examines new documents on Islamic State drone program

CTC releases new report on drones

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