European countries heighten vigilance amid rising Islamist terror threats
4:55 PM EDT, March 27, 2024
Concerns about potential Islamist terrorist attacks on European Union territories have been heightened, especially after the recent terrorist incident near Moscow. However, only France has escalated its threat level, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
Just three weeks ago, officials in Brussels thwarted a severe terrorist plot intended for a concert. The attack aimed to inflict maximum casualties, reminiscent of the tragic events at the Bataclan club in Paris in November 2015.
Among those arrested for the planned violence were four individuals, including three minors. Their operations in Belgium have seen a noticeable uptick, connected to the escalation between Hamas and Israel, and the Israeli military responses in the Gaza Strip. Early March reports from Brussels' State Threat Analysis Center (CUTA) indicated a 41 percent increase in planned terror activities in 2023, jumping from 236 to 332 instances.
France faces the highest threat level
Belgium's threat level has remained at the third tier of its four-level scale since an attack on October 16, 2023, when a lone extremist killed two individuals from Sweden.
Following a devastating attack near Moscow on March 22, 2024, claimed by the Islamic State, Brussels authorities decided not to alter their threat assessment.
Contrastingly, France has elevated its terror threat to the highest level as a precautionary measure, according to President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to French Guiana. Macron attributes recent attack attempts on French soil to the Islamic State.
Germany remains alert
In the wake of the Moscow tragedy, which resulted in at least 137 fatalities, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sees no immediate need to adjust the nation's threat level, noting that the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (ISPK) has long been a source of concern. German authorities remain highly vigilant, having previously uncovered plots targeting significant landmarks and governmental buildings across Europe.
Repercussions from the Quran desecration incidents have prompted Sweden and Denmark to enforce elevated security precautions. These actions, following the Hamas-Israel conflict, could potentially lead to threats or attacks in these regions, according to Danish police intelligence service PET.
The Western threat from the "Islamic State"
The Islamic State's Khorasan branch (ISPK), established in Afghanistan in 2015, is believed to have a robust network of approximately a thousand supporters. Peter R. Neumann, a terrorism researcher from King's College in London, suggests ISPK is uniquely positioned to execute a significant attack in the West. This group isn't just driven by Islamist ideology but also competes for supremacy among radical circles.
While counter-terrorism remains a national responsibility within the EU, there's substantial cooperation and information sharing among member states through various agencies, including Europol. Based in The Hague, Europol has noted increased terrorist activities in Europe, with 16 attacks recorded in 2022, primarily with extremist motivations unrelated to Islamism.
Despite a dramatic decrease in attacks since 2017, over 300 individuals were detained in 2022 for planning Islamist attacks, predominantly in France. Europol anticipates a worrying uptrend in these figures starting from 2023.
Bernd Riegert, Deutsche Welle
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