House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers said Sunday the United States received reports “something big” was going to target the West, but specifics were lacking and Algeria was a surprise.
“Just like the Benghazi event, we had lots of threat streams. … There [were] reports coming in from all different types of sources saying, ’Something big is going to happen.’ We didn’t know for sure … but we knew that they were trying to find a Western target,” the Michigan Republican told ABC News on Sunday.
Mr. Rogers’ remarks followed a four-day hostage situation at a natural gas plant in Algeria that left nearly two dozen dead — including at least one American — and dozens more missing. Algerian military forces stormed the plant and killed 32 of the kidnappers, al Qaeda-linked terrorists with ties to the jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Death counts may be revised upward, as Algerian forces continue to search for survivors.
Terrorists — despite the number killed in their own ranks — are nonetheless claiming the event a success and are using the operation as a means of boosting recruitment, some analysts believe.
In a separate interview on CNN on Sunday, Mr. Rogers said: “They are recruiting more people. They are growing more dangerous. They are growing in numbers.”
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