catch someone in the act, disciplined communications, identified soft targets

Paris Attackers Refined Tactics to Inflict Harm, Report Shows

By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI, ALISSA J. RUBIN and LAURE FOURQUET 9:24 AM ET

A 55-page French report details how the men in November’s attacks used disciplined communications, identified soft targets and perfected bomb-making techniques after two years of failures.

soft target

noun

plural noun: soft targets

1. a person or thing that is relatively unprotected or vulnerable, especially to military or terrorist attack.

   "farms are a soft target for arsonists"

catch someone in the act

Surprise someone in the process of doing something wrong:the thieves were caught in the act

The New Yorker

A cartoon by Tom Cheney. Find more cartoons from this week's issue here: http://nyer.cm/i1IawVf