It furnishes the active terrorists with logistic support, intelligence, dissemination of propaganda, recruiting, and money. Terrorist recruitment and training are, predictably, security-sensitive. Among groups that are not ethnic-based, the usual sources of recruits are high school and college students who show commitment to the cause. Ethnically based terrorist groups recruit new members personally known to them, people whose backgrounds are known and who often have family ties to the organization. Intelligence penetration of organizations recruited in this way is extremely difficult.
Terrorist training varies considerably.
Those with military experience or who have received prolonged training at sophisticated facilities are the equals of most state security forces. Typical training includes instruction in the use of small arms and explosives along with intelligence collection and indoctrination in the group's cause. Contemporary terrorist actions include the traditional assassinations, bombings, arson, hostage-taking, hijacking, kidnapping, seizure and occupation of a building, attacks on a facility, sabotage, and perpetration of hoaxes. Target selection considerations are equally diverse but include the target's value in terms of its contribution to group goals, its accessibility given group capabilities, and the purpose of the attack, such as to gain attention, collect resources, eliminate a threat, or demonstrate a capability. All these factors are reflected in the group's organization and training.