(The Center Square)–Years after 9/11, Islamic terrorists continue to target Americans living and working abroad, including attacking and killing U.S. troops. They’ve also targeted famous pop icons like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, including killing their fans in the U.K.
In former President Joe Biden’s first two years in office, U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Syria were attacked at least 150 times by Iran-backed militias. In the Middle East region, nearly 190 U.S. troops were injured or killed after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.
The majority attacked suffered traumatic brain injuries, the Pentagon confirmed. “TBIs resulting from the blast impacts of missiles, mortars and drones make up 70% of the total number of casualties,” Military Times reported. This includes three U.S. soldiers who were killed in a Jan. 28, 2024, attack in Jordan. An Iranian living in Natick, Mass., was charged last December for his alleged role in providing the drone technology used to kill them, The Center Square reported.
In Syria, Islamic State terrorist attacks against Americans continue, including against three Americans who were killed last weekend, including two soldiers from Iowa. U.S. troops have been stationed in Iraq and Syria to counter Islamic State terrorists and others backed by Iranian forces.
The Islamic terrorists aren’t just targeting U.S. troops overseas. They’re also targeting U.S. pop icons, including megastar and billionaire Taylor Swift.
Islamic attackers targeted her and her fans twice in two countries last year during her Eras tour. In a new docuseries about the tour, “The End of an Era” out on Disney+, she briefly discussed both.
Last July 29, an Islamic man stabbed to death two children and critically injured nine children and several adults who attended a Swift-themed dance and yoga class in Southport, England. Axel Rudakubana was charged and sentenced to life in prison after the attack. Police found ricin, a toxic poison, and a PDF file of “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual” at his home.
“After his arrest, Rudakubana told police: “I’m glad those kids are dead, it makes me happy,” USA Today reported.
One month later, last August, Swift’s concerts were canceled in Vienna after police thwarted an ISIS-inspired bomb attack. “Never in my life did I think we would have a terrorist plot. We dodged a massacre,” she said.
Two people were arrested for their alleged role in plans to attack major events in Vienna, including Swift’s concerts. In response, German Chancellor Karl Nehammer said, “The situation surrounding the apparently planned terrorist attack in Vienna was very serious. Thanks to the intensive cooperation between our police and the newly established DSN with foreign services, the threat was detected early, combated, and a tragedy was prevented.
“We live in a time when violent means are used to attack our Western way of life. Islamist terrorism threatens the safety and freedom in many Western countries,” he said. “That is precisely why we will not abandon our values such as freedom and democracy, but will defend them even more vigorously. These values are the foundation of our society and make us resilient against extremism and terrorism. It is important to remain vigilant, stand together, and resolutely combat Islamism.”
Swift is not the only American pop star to be targeted by Islamic terrorists.
On May 22, 2017, a suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 attending an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. It was the deadliest Islamic terrorist attack in the U.K. since the 2005 London bombings.
He’d been on British intelligence agency MI5’s radar more than 20 times, Sky News reported. An official inquiry was later conducted that found that British security services could have taken actions that could have prevented the attack.
Seven years later, this May, Grande reportedly again received death threats from ISIS members, according to RadarOnline.
Islamic terrorist threats continue after nearly 70,000 attacks were committed worldwide in 45 years, The Center Square reported.
In the U.S., between April 2021 and June 2025, there were more than 50 jihadist cases in 30 U.S. states, including dozens of attempts to provide material support to ISIS, Hezbollah and al Queda, according to a U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security terror threat assessment report.
According to Georgetown University’s Project on Extremism, 170 individuals have been charged in the U.S. since 2014 for offenses related to ISIS.
According to a Center for Strategic & International Studies analysis, there were “740 terrorist attacks and plots in the United States between January 1, 1994, and January 1, 2025, 140 of which were [Islamic] jihadist attacks and plots.”
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