The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group could add car bomb attacks to its “modus operandi” in its future attacks against European Union (EU) countries, according to a study published by Europol.”The Paris and Brussels attacks showed that terrorists acting on behalf of the Islamic State (…) are capable of planning relatively complex and effective attacks” and “other possibilities for the future include the use of car bombs, kidnappings or extortion,” indicate Europol anti-terrorist experts.They are supported, among other data, by the suspicion that the Ihadists who struck Paris in November 2015, killing 132 people and injuring more than 300, had plans to install a car loaded with explosives “probably somewhere in France.” , but they had to change their agenda due to police pressure.They add that the attacks with suicide bombers in Paris or Brussels show “similarities” with those executed in Bombay in 2008 and it cannot be ruled out that the Islamic State or related groups seek to export to the EU terrorist techniques such as those used in Syria and Iraq, where car bombs routinely contribute to their massacres.The report points to the member countries of the international coalition against the Islamic State as the main target of its future terrorist attacks, with France at the top of the list and credible threats also to Belgium, Germany or the United Kingdom.Europol identifies two types of priority objectives: those of a symbolic nature, with the security forces in the crosshairs, and those that are committed indiscriminately against the civilian population with a “powerful intimidating effect” on citizens.This strategy displaces other types of attacks against infrastructure, such as electrical networks, nuclear facilities, transportation centers or even cyberattacks, to a secondary place, since they have less “impact” on public opinion.The Islamic State also takes into account in its terrorist strategy the economic impact of its attacks, which can be seen in the drop in “travel and tourism”, both outside the EU (Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey) and within (France and Belgium), to which is added that the jihadist threat has “significantly” raised security costs in its target countries.Regarding the profile of the terrorists who attack in the European Union, the report indicates that “they are not necessarily deeply believers”, they are often inspired by the Islamic State but do not receive direct orders from the organization and usually have a relationship with other groups or activities. criminals.On the other hand, Europol experts consider that one of the strategies that the Islamic State could implement is to seek that its attacks “compromise Syrian refugees as a group and force (EU) Member States to change their policies towards them.” ยป, for example, trying to radicalize and recruit members of the Syrian diaspora once in Europe.Beyond the threat of the Islamic State, other Islamist terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda or Al Nusra, or individuals or groups inspired by them, will also continue to represent a threat, as recalled by the attack in Paris against the weekly “Charlie Hebdo”, perpetrated in 2015 on behalf of the first of those organizations, the report concludes. EFEPost navigation
