Roll Call Briefing/News & Intelligence for July 24, 2026

It is free to you, but there is a real cost to put all of this together and it gets more expensive everyday. Upgrade your subscription, but only if you can afford it.TERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCEIslamic State Is Treating Churches as a Standing Target Set on Three ContinentsIndago’s Islamic State assessment for the week ending July 20 identifies attacks on religious sites as a coordinated strategy running across Nigeria, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The assessment states that detained Islamic State members in Syria gave confessions outlining plans to bomb Christian churches and Shia shrines to deepen societal divisions, and that affiliates in West and Central Africa are systematically targeting Christian villages and burning homes alongside military assets. The report places churches on its priority target watchlist for Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria, and the DRC, citing demonstrated planning and execution capability against Christian places of worship. It also assesses that Islamic State in Syria has shifted away from targeting armed opposition factions and toward religious minority sites in order to maximize sectarian friction in the post-Assad security vacuum.[Source: Indago Situation Report, Islamic State Weekly Update, 20 July 2026]🛡️ My thoughts: this is something that I assessed long ago, but it’s nice to see another intelligence organization back it up. Many of you are running missions in these areas. You need to have a plan and you need to have safe houses that you can go to in the event of an emergency. I suggest that you get training in survival, evasion, resistance and escape before you go to one of these countries to help Christians.ISIS-K Poster Names the US Capitol and Ties the Call to the World CupOn July 14, the Islamic State Khorasan-linked al-Azaim Media Foundation released a poster depicting the United States Capitol and the Eiffel Tower as targets, carrying the message “Kill Them. Seize Them. Besiege Them” drawn from a Quranic verse. The release was timed to France’s Bastille Day and to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Indago assesses the poster as direct incitement to attack soft targets in the United States and France during high-profile events, and notes Islamic State media has been calling for attacks on World Cup host cities and venues since June 18. The National Counterterrorism Center listed the same poster in its terrorist publications compendium for the week of July 16 through 22. Indago names lone-actor vehicle ramming, knife, and explosives attacks against crowd gatherings as the highest-probability threat vector.[Source: NCTC Counterterrorism Digest, 16 to 22 July 2026, and Indago Islamic State Weekly Update, citing MEMRI JTTM]🛡️ My thoughts: this message is inciting lone actors within the United States. We saw that in New York City this week when a man did exactly what ISIS asked them to do. He poured gasoline and used fireworks as an IED to attack a federal building there. What if he decided to go after a church instead of the federal building? Would you be prepared for that? Some church security trainers are saying that I am over stating these threats. Ezekiel 33 tells us to sound the trumpet when we see danger. I am doing that now, and I think those trainers need to change their attitude and do the same. The chances of an attack at your church are very minimal, but it’s not zero. We know it will happen to somebody, I pray that they are prepared.Federal Data Shows Homegrown Islamic State Supporters Are Staying Home and Planning HereThe NCTC spotlight this week summarizes research from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center on American Islamic State supporters. The United States has federally charged 272 people with Islamic State-related crimes since 2014. Defendants ranged in age from 17 to 56 with an average age of 27, 83 percent held United States citizenship or permanent legal resident status, and 91 percent were male. Cases per year have been climbing since 2023. Roughly 35 percent of defendants in the post-caliphate period attempted to travel overseas, and no traveler has successfully reached a destination since 2019. The spotlight highlights the January 2026 indictment of Christian Sturdivant, 18, arrested in December 2025 after authorities determined he allegedly planned to use knives and hammers in a New Year’s Eve attack on a grocery store and a fast-food restaurant in North Carolina.[Source: NCTC Counterterrorism Digest, 16 to 22 July 2026, citing NCITE and the US Department of Justice]🛡️ My thoughts: you should see a theme here. The danger to our church and synagogues is growing. Look at the information they put out and use that to help you in your threat assessments in your situational awareness while you’re working.S