Centre to probe terror

The hunt is on for a US university campus to house a multimillion-dollar centre that will study what motivates terrorists and how they choose their targets.

The $12 million (£6.5 million) Homeland Security Center for Behavioral and Social Aspects of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism will be the fourth so-called Homeland Security Center of Excellence to be set up at an American university since December.

The US Government has set aside $3.2 billion for research into terrorism, much of which is destined for university campuses.

The universities of Minnesota and Texas A&M have won grants worth $15 million and $18 million respectively to study terrorist threats to agriculture.

The University of Southern California got $12 million to analyse terrorism's economic impact. USC researchers will collaborate with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin.

Proposals are due in September.