Roundup: U.S. increasingly targeted amid rising global terror threats

Terrorist groups are eyeing the United States as a target, but the question remains whether they can pull off a major attack, according to analysts.

Earlier this week, U.S. media reported that Somalia-based radical group al-Shabaab listed the Mall of America in the U.S. state of Minnesota as a target, calling on "lone wolf" assailants to carry out an attack.

At least 23 individuals form the state are believed to have entered Somalia to fight with the extremists, and experts and authorities fear such individuals could slip back into the United States undetected, now with terrorist training, and launch an attack.

Recent months have also seen threats from the Islamic State (IS) directed against U.S. President Barack Obama. Last month, U.S. media reported that a video posted by the IS shows the terror group making direct threats against the president.

The video is not the first time the group has threatened the United States, but does mark the first time the IS terrorists have called out Obama by name, a move that may indicate the group is feeling empowered and emboldened by gains in the Middle East.

The IS has grabbed headlines worldwide for atrocities committed against civilians and enemy military personnel. Recently, the group released a video of the killing of a Jordanian pilot, in which he was burned alive.

U.S. aid worker Kayla Mueller, 26, was also killed while being held captive by the IS. The group has raised red flags worldwide after overrunning vast swaths of territory in Syria and northern Iraq, beheading dozens of Christians, and crucifying children.

If given a chance, the IS would certainly launch an attack against the United States, experts say, but the question is whether they are sophisticated and competent enough to pull off an assault similar to the 9/11 attacks.

"The IS certainly has expressed interest in attacking the United States and like al-Shabaab, has been quite successful at attracting Westerners to its cause," RAND Corporation's associate political scientist Raphael Cohen told Xinhua.

Indeed, some media have reported that 2,000 Westerners are fighting alongside the IS, although more are from Europe than the United States.

Thus far, the IS has not pulled off an attack equivalent to the 9/11 attacks, and their most horrific atrocities have been within the Middle East.

But going forward, the United States has to worry that the IS controls territory and resources, and has a relatively sophisticated organizational structure. That will give them significant capacity to threaten the United States, Cohen said.

Washington's ultimate nightmare is that the IS will set up its own safe haven whereby operatives can train to attack the United States, just as al-Qaeda did.

Still, the United States has become more adept at counterterrorism since the 2001 attacks. That does not mean the United States is invulnerable to terrorism, but it does mitigate the possibility of another 9/11, Cohen said. Endi