FBI Director James Comey said the Islamic State’s ability to recruit fighters from inside the US to wage war in Syria and Iraq has sharply diminished over the past year, citing new figures that he says shows the terror group has “lost significant power” inside the country. “They’ve lost their ability to attract people to the caliphate from the United States,” Comey told reporters at a briefing at bureau headquarters Tuesday. At the same time, Comey said the Islamic State is still attracting “troubled souls” through social media who pose potential terror threats, resulting in more than 1,000 active FBI investigations into online recruitment– a slight increase from over a year ago.
