Islamic terrorism in Europe
Islamic terrorism in Europe has been carried out by the Islamic State (ISIL) or Al-Qaeda as well as Islamist lone wolves since the late 20th century. Europol, which releases the annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend report (TE-SAT), used the term "Islamist terrorism" in the years 2006–2010, "religiously inspired terrorism" 2011–2014, and has used "jihadist terrorism" since 2015.[1][lower-alpha 1] The 2020 TE-SAT outlines their definition of jihadism as a violent sub-current of Salafism, which rejects democracy and elected government in favour of "a violent ideology exploiting traditional Islamic concepts". According to TE-SAT, jihadists aim to create an Islamic state governed exclusively by Islamic law, as interpreted by them.[2]
In the early 2000s, most of the Islamic terrorist activity was linked to Al-Qaeda and the plots tended to involve groups carrying out co-ordinated bombings. The deadliest attacks of this period were the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 193 civilians (the deadliest Islamist attack in Europe), and the 7 July 2005 London bombings, which killed 52.
There was a rise in Islamic terrorist incidents in Europe after 2014.[3][4][5] The years 2014–16 saw more people killed by Islamic terrorist attacks in Europe than all previous years combined, and the highest rate of attack plots per year.[6] Most of this terrorist activity was inspired by ISIL,[6][7] and many European states have had some involvement in the military intervention against it. A number of plots involved people who entered or re-entered Europe as asylum seekers during the European migrant crisis,[7][8][9] and some attackers had returned to Europe after fighting in the Syrian Civil War.[7] The Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting in May 2014 was the first attack in Europe by a returnee from the Syrian war.[10]
While most earlier Islamic terrorist attacks in Europe were carried out by groups and involved bombs, most attacks since 2014 have been carried out by individuals using guns, knives and vehicles.[11] A notable exception is the Brussels cell, which carried out two of the deadliest attacks of the period.
The deadliest attacks of this period have been the November 2015 Paris attacks (130 killed), the July 2016 Nice truck attack (86 killed), the June 2016 Atatürk Airport attack (45 killed), the March 2016 Brussels bombings (32 killed), and the May 2017 Manchester Arena bombing (22 killed). These attacks and threats have led to major security operations and plans such as Opération Sentinelle in France, Operation Vigilant Guardian and the Brussels lockdown in Belgium, and Operation Temperer in the United Kingdom.
Overview
Year | Attacks[lower-alpha 2] | Deaths[lower-alpha 3] |
---|---|---|
2006 | 1 | Not reported |
2007 | 4 | Not reported |
2008 | 0 | Not reported |
2009 | 1 | Not reported |
2010 | 3 | Not reported |
2011 | 0 | Not reported |
2012 | 6 | 8 |
2013 | 0 | 1 |
2014 | 2 | 4 |
2015 | 17 | 150 |
2016 | 13 | 135 |
2017 | 33 | 62 |
2018 | 24 | 13 |
The first incidents of Islamic terrorism occurred in France in 1995 when a network with ties to Algeria carried out a string of bombings in Paris in retaliation for French involvement in the Algerian Civil War.[13]
In the early 2000s, most of the Islamic terrorist activity was linked to Al-Qaeda and the plots tended to involve groups carrying out co-ordinated bombings. The deadliest attacks of this period were the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 193 civilians (the deadliest Islamist attack in Europe), and the 7 July 2005 London bombings, which killed 52.
Although militants in Syria had started to organize attacks in Europe by sending terrorist operatives to carry out attacks as early as 2012, security services in the European countries they sought to attack did not see the arrested individuals as part of a network with a cohesive strategy. Instead the general consensus saw them as radicalized individuals. Many of these operatives were arrested, while others carried out unsophisticated attacks which caused little damage but still served to overload security services.[13]
Since 2014, more than 20 fatal attacks have been carried out in Europe. France saw eight attacks between January 2015 and July 2016;[14] this included the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks, the November 2015 Paris attacks, and the July 2016 Nice truck attack. The United Kingdom saw three major attacks carried out in a span of four months in early 2017 (Westminster attack, Manchester Arena bombing, and London Bridge attack). Other targets in Europe have included Belgium, Germany, Russia, and Spain. The transcontinental city of Istanbul also saw both bombings and shootings, including in January 2016, June 2016 and January 2017.
In 2015, the Islamic State, which in 2014 had claimed that all Muslims were under a religious obligation to join it, declared that the only excuse for Muslims to not join the group in territories under its control was to perpetrate terrorist attacks in their current place of residence. According to Europol's annual report released in 2017, the Islamic State exploited the flow of refugees and migrants to commit acts of terrorism, which was a feature of the 2015 Paris attacks. In 2016 attack planning against Western countries took place in Syria and Iraq. Groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL had the intent and capabilities to mount mass casualty attacks with volunteers.[15]
According to a review by Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå, about two thirds of attackers in Western Europe (44 out of the 68 individuals involved in the total of 37 attacks between 2014 and August 2017) had been influenced by Islamic hate preachers and became radicalised as a result of personal contact, rather than online.[16]
In 2017, the EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove stated in an interview that there were more than 50,000 radicals and jihadists in Europe.[17] In 2016, French authorities stated that 15,000 of the 20,000 individuals on the list of security threats belong to Islamist movements.[18] After the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, British authorities and MI5 estimated they had 500 ongoing investigations into 3,000 jihadist extremists as potential terrorist attackers, with a further 20,000 having been "subjects of interest" in the past, including the Manchester and Westminster attackers.[19]
According to a 2017 interview with Islamism expert Lorenzo G. Vidino in the aftermath of the 2017 Barcelona attacks, jihadi terrorists in Europe mobilized by ISIL have tended to be second-generation immigrant Muslims.[20] Consequently, countries such as Italy and Spain with a smaller demographic in this category have experienced fewer attacks than countries in Central and Northern Europe such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium.[20]
According to the British think tank[21] ICSR, up to 40% of terrorist plots in Europe are part-financed through petty crime such as drug-dealing, theft, robberies, loan fraud and burglaries. Jihadists use ordinary crime as a way to finance their activity and have also argued this to be the "ideologically correct" way to wage jihad in non-Muslim lands.[22]
According to German anthropologist Susanne Schröter, attacks in European countries in 2017 showed that the military defeat of the Islamic State did not mean the end of Islamist violence. Schröter also compared the events in Europe to a jihadist strategy formulated in 2005 by Abu Musab al-Suri, where an intensification of terror would destabilise societies and encourage Muslim youth to revolt. The expected civil war never materialised in Europe, but did occur in other regions such as Libya, Syria, Iraq and the Philippines (Battle of Marawi).[23]
Launched attacks and foiled Jihadist terror plots in Europe | |
Source: Petter Nesser, a researcher at Norwegian Defence Research Establishment writing for Politico. Numbers for 2017 and 2018 are preliminary.[24] |
List of attacks
2000–2013
Date | Location | Article | Details | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 March 2004 | Madrid train bombings | Ten bombs exploded almost simultaneously aboard four commuter trains in Madrid during rush hour, killing 193 civilians and injuring about 2,000. The bombs had been hidden in backpacks by a group of Islamists linked to Al-Qaeda. On 3 April, five suspects blew themselves up as police raided a flat in which they were hiding, killing themselves and a police officer. | 193 | 2,000 | |
2 November 2004 | Murder of Theo van Gogh | Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was shot dead on a street in Amsterdam by Islamist Mohammed Bouyeri, a member of the 'Hofstad Network'. Van Gogh had received death threats for producing the film Submission with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, which criticises the treatment of women in Islam. Bouyeri also attempted to behead Van Gogh and pinned a threatening letter to his body. He was arrested after a shootout with police. In July 2005, he was sentenced to life in prison for murder with terrorist intent.[25] | 1 | 2 | |
7 July 2005 | 7 July 2005 London bombings | There were four co-ordinated suicide bombings in London during rush hour. Three Islamists blew themselves up aboard London Underground trains and another aboard a bus. Fifty-two civilians were killed and more than 700 were injured. A 2019 article in the Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues described it as the first Islamic terrorist attack in the city.[26]
On 21 July, another group of Islamists attempted a similar attack, but their bombs failed to detonate. |
52 (+4 attackers) | 784 | |
30 June 2007 | Glasgow Airport attack | Two Islamists attempted to drive a jeep, loaded with propane tanks, into the main entrance of Glasgow Airport, Scotland. The jeep struck bollards and caught fire. One of the men threw petrol bombs while the other attempted to take out the propane tanks. They fought police and bystanders but were eventually subdued. The driver died of burns on 2 August. A day before the attack, the men had planted car bombs in London which failed to detonate. Europol classified the attacks as Islamist terrorism.[27] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 5 | |
12 October 2009 | A Libyan man detonated an explosive device at the entrance to Santa Barbara military barracks in Milan, after being stopped by guards. The attacker was badly burned and a guard was injured. Europol classified the attack as Islamist terrorism.[28][29] | 0 | 2 | ||
27 June 2010 | Bugojno terrorist attack | On 27 June 2010, a bomb attack on a police station in Bugojno in which a police officer was killed several more were wounded. A suspect was caught while fleeing the scene. He was sentenced to 45 years in jail,[30] a sentence which was later overturned. A second trial resulted in a prison sentence of 35 years.[31] | 1 | several | |
1 January 2010 | Kurt Westergaard | A 28-year-old Somali made an attempt to murder the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who managed to evade his attacker. As police arrived, the man attacked the officer's patrol vehicle with an axe. The first patrol car reversed away with the perpetrator following and an officer in a second patrol car shot and wounded the perpetrator in the arms and legs. Westergaard has been living under police protection since the publication of his caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. The perpetrator was found to have links to the radical Islamist organisation Al-Shabaab and in February 2011 he was sentenced to nine years in prison. Europol classified the attack as Islamist terrorism.[32][33] | (1) | ||
11 December 2010 | 2010 Stockholm bombings | There were two blasts in central Stockholm. A car bomb partly detonated, injuring two bystanders, and shortly after a suicide bomber blew himself up nearby. Only one of the pipe bombs he carried detonated and no bystanders were hurt. Europol classified the attack as Islamist terrorism.[32] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 2 | |
2 March 2011 | 2011 Frankfurt Airport shooting | On 2 March 2011, in a bus at Frankfurt Airport, a Kosovan employee of the airport opened fire on unarmed US soldiers. Two soldiers were killed and two others seriously wounded. According to the court judge at Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt, this was the first terrorist attack in Germany in which the perpetrator had an Islamist motive.[34] | 2 | 2 | |
11–22 March 2012 | Toulouse and Montauban shootings | An Islamist, Mohammed Merah, carried out a string of gun attacks on French soldiers and civilians. On 11 March he shot dead an off-duty soldier in Toulouse. On 15 March he shot three off-duty soldiers in Montauban, killing two. On 19 March, he opened fire at a Jewish school in Toulouse, killing a rabbi and three children. On 22 March, he was shot dead by police at his apartment after a lengthy standoff. Europol classified the attacks as religiously inspired terrorism.[35] | 7 (+1 attacker) | 5 | |
19 September 2012 | Cannes-Torcy cell | In 2012 two assailants threw a grenade at a kosher market in Sarcelles, Paris which wounding one person.[36] One of the grenade throwers and the leader of the cell, rapper Jérémie Louis-Sidney, was shot and killed during 6 October 2012 by BRI police from Strasbourg during his arrest.[37][38] In June 2017 Jérémy Bailly, the other grenade thrower, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the grenade attacks, planning other jihadist attacks and for planning to join the conflict in Syria.[39] In total 18 cell members originating in Algeria, Laos and France were convicted in the trial and two were acquitted.[40] Seven of the convicted were associated with the Torcy mosque which was closed for promoting jihadism.[39] Europol classified the attack as religiously inspired terrorism.[35] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 1 | |
22 May 2013 | Murder of Lee Rigby | An off-duty British soldier, Lee Rigby, was killed by two Islamists outside his barracks in London. The men ran him down with a car, then stabbed and hacked him to death with knives and a cleaver. They stood over the body and spoke to bystanders until police arrived. They charged at police and were shot and arrested. Europol classified the attack as religiously inspired terrorism.[41] | 1 | 0 | |
25 May 2013 | 2013 La Défense attack | A French soldier on patrol was stabbed in the neck by a man in La Défense, near Paris. The attacker fled but was arrested four days later. Europol classified the attack as religiously inspired terrorism.[41] In November 2015, the court declared the attacker not criminally responsible for psychiatric reasons.[42] | 0 | 1 |
2014
Date | Location | Article | Details | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 May 2014 | Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting | An attacker opened fire in the Jewish Museum in Brussels, leaving four people dead. On 30 May, a man who in 2013 had fought for Islamists in the Syrian Civil War, was arrested in Marseille and admitted to the shooting.[43][44][10] The trial began in January 2019.[45] Europol classified the attack as religiously inspired terrorism, and noted that the attack was the first by a returnee from the Syrian Civil War.[10] | 4 | 0 | |
20 December 2014 | 2014 Tours police station stabbing | An attacker entered a police station shouting the Islamic takbir Allahu Akbar ("God is Great"), and attacked officers with a knife, injuring three before he was shot dead.[10][46][47] Europol classified the attack as religiously inspired terrorism.[10] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 3 | |
21 December 2014 | 2014 Dijon attack | An attacker deliberately drove a van into several groups of pedestrians, injuring 11 before being arrested. He shouted Allahu akbar during the attack and stated he was a "warrior for Islam". According to Europol, the attacker may have been only partly motivated by ideology and suffered from schizophrenia, but was nonetheless inspired by the modus operandi recommended in terrorist propaganda.[10] | 0 | 11 |
2015
According to Europol, terrorist attacks attributed to jihadists in the European Union increased from four in 2014 to seventeen in 2015, while the number of people killed increased from four to 150. Non-EU areas of Europe are not included in the Europol figures.[48]
In 2015, the terrorist threat level was zero in Poland, on its scale which has four levels plus the "zero level". About 20-40 Polish nationals had travelled to the conflict zone in Syria-Iraq.[49]
Date | Location | Article | Details | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7–9 January 2015 | 2015 Istanbul suicide bombing | A Dagestani wife of a Norwegian-Chechen IS fighter has detonated a bomb vest underneath a niqab she has worn at an Istanbul police station killing 1 officer. | 1 (+1 attacker) | 1 | |
7–9 January 2015 | January 2015 Île-de-France attacks | From 7 January 2015 to 9 January 2015, terrorist attacks occurred across the Île-de-France region, particularly in Paris. Three attackers killed a total of 17 in four shooting attacks, and police then killed the three assailants.[48][50][51] The main attacks were the Charlie Hebdo shooting and the Porte de Vincennes siege. The organization Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility and said that the coordinated attacks had been planned for years.[52] Europol classified the attacks as jihadist terrorism.[48] | 17 (+3 attackers) | 22 | |
3 February 2015 | 2015 Nice stabbing | Three soldiers, guarding a Jewish community center in Nice, were attacked by a man with a knife. The attacker was arrested by police.[48][53] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[48] | 0 | 3 | |
14–15 February 2015 | 2015 Copenhagen shootings | A man opened fire at an event at Krudttønden organized by Lars Vilks, known for his controversial drawings of Muhammad. Later, a Jewish man was shot outside the Great Synagogue. The attacker was later shot dead by police.[48][54] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[48] | 2 (+1 attacker) | 6 | |
26 June 2015 | Saint-Quentin-Fallavier attack | An attacker beheaded his employer, impaled his head on a fence, and then blew up gas cylinders at a factory by ramming his van into them. The attacker was arrested, but committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell later the same year.[48][53] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[48] | 1 | 2 | |
21 August 2015 | 2015 Thalys train attack | A man threatened passengers with an assault rifle on a Thalys train between Amsterdam and Paris. One passenger was shot in the neck with a pistol when the rifle jammed.[48][55] Two United States military personnel and their civilian friend overcame the attacker.[56] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[48] | 0 | 3 (+1 attacker) | |
17 September 2015 | Rafik Yousef | An Iraqi citizen stabbed a German policewoman in the neck. He was then shot dead by another officer.[48][57] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[48] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 1 | |
13–14 November 2015 | November 2015 Paris attacks | A series of co-ordinated attacks began over about 35 minutes at six locations in central Paris.[48] The first shooting attack occurred in a restaurant and a bar in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. There was shooting and a bomb detonated at Bataclan theatre in the 11th arrondissement during a concert by the Eagles of Death Metal. Approximately 100 hostages were then taken and overall 89 were killed there. Other bombings took place outside the Stade de France stadium in the suburb of Saint-Denis during a football match between France and Germany.[58] Europol classified the attacks as jihadist terrorism.[48] | 130 (+7 attackers) | 413 | |
2016
In 2016, a total of 133 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures, while 62 others were killed in Turkey and one in Russia. Thirteen attacks were attempted. The number of arrests increased on the previous year, to 718. In France, the number of arrests increased from 377 in 2015 to 429 in 2016. One in four (26%) of those arrested in 2016 were women, an increase from 18% the previous year.[15] The threat in 2016 consisted of remotely directed individuals operating alone or in small groups. In addition to these, there were those that were inspired by propaganda but not instructed or directed.[15]
Date | Location | Article | Details | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 January 2016 | January 2016 Paris police station attack | An asylum seeker wielding a knife and a fake bomb vest shouted "Allahu Akbar" outside a police station. He was shot dead by police as he tried to force his way in.[15][53] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 1 | |
11 January 2016 | A 15-year-old Turkish boy, claiming to be "acting in the name of ISIL," attempted to behead a teacher from a Jewish school with a machete.[15][59][60] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 0 | 1 | ||
12 January 2016 | January 2016 Istanbul bombing | A suicide bomber blew himself up near Hippodrome of Constantinople near the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, killing 13 people and wounding another 9, most of whom were foreign tourists. No group claimed responsibility, but Turkish authorities suspected ISIL.[61] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 13 (+1 attacker) | 9 | |
26 February 2016 | Hanover stabbing | A police officer was critically injured in a stabbing attack by a 15-year-old girl. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 0 | 1 | |
19 March 2016 | March 2016 Istanbul bombing | A suicide bombing took place in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district in front of the district governor's office. The attack occurred at 10:55 (EET) at the intersection of Balo Street with İstiklal Avenue, a central shopping street.[62] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 4 (+1 attacker) | 36 | |
22 March 2016 | 2016 Brussels bombings | Suicide bombers detonated three bombs in Brussels: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station. In these attacks, 32 people and the three bombers were killed, and 340 people were injured.[15][63] Europol classified the attacks as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 32 (+3 attackers) | 340 | |
13 June 2016 | 2016 Magnanville stabbing | An attacker stabbed and killed a police officer in his home, before taking the officer's wife and son hostage. Police raided the house and killed the attacker and found the officer's wife dead but his son alive. ISIL claimed responsibility. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 2 (+1 attacker) | 0 | |
28 June 2016 | 2016 Atatürk Airport attack | A terrorist attack, consisting of shootings and suicide bombings, occurred on 28 June 2016 at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Gunmen armed with automatic weapons and explosive belts staged a simultaneous attack at the international terminal of Terminal 2. Forty-five people were killed,[64] in addition to the three attackers, and more than 230 people were injured.[65] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 45 (+3 attackers) | 230 | |
14 July 2016 | 2016 Nice truck attack | A Tunisian man, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, drove a cargo truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, resulting in the death of 86 people and injuring 458. The driver was shot dead by police. ISIL claimed the responsibility for the attack.[15][53][66] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 86 (+1 attacker) | 458 | |
18 July 2016 | Würzburg train attack | A 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker attacked passengers on a train with an axe and a knife. The attacker was killed by police.[15][67] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 5 | |
24 July 2016 | 2016 Ansbach bombing | A 27-year-old Syrian refugee detonated a bomb at a wine bar after being denied entry to a nearby music festival, killing himself and wounding 15 civilians. Authorities found a recorded video message on the attacker's phone, pledging his allegiance to ISIL.[15][68] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] The Ansbach bombing was the first suicide bombing in Germany by Islamist terrorists.[69][70] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 15 | |
26 July 2016 | 2016 Normandy church attack | Two assailants took hostages at a church, killing a priest and seriously wounding another man. The attackers were killed by French Special Forces. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.[15][71][72] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 1 (+2 attackers) | 1 | |
6 August 2016 | 2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers | An Algerian man a wielding a machete and shouting "Allahu Akbar" attacked two policewomen. The assailant was shot and killed by a third officer.[15][73][74] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 2 | |
17 August 2016 | 2016 Shchelkovo Highway police station attack | Two men with firearms and axes attacked the police station on the Shchelkovo Highway near Moscow. Two traffic police officers were seriously wounded, one fatally.[75] The attackers, natives of the Chechen Republic, were killed by police during the attack. ISIL claimed responsibility.[76] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 1 (+2 attackers) | 1 | |
5 October 2016 | 2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers | Three police officers were attacked by a man wielding a machete in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels. Two of them suffered stab wounds, while the third was physically assaulted but otherwise uninjured.[15][77] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 0 | 3 (+1 attacker) | |
19 December 2016 | 2016 Berlin attack | A Tunisian man drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin killing twelve people and wounding 56 others. Days later, having fled to Italy, the attacker shot an Italian police officer doing a routine check, before being killed by police.[15][78] ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.[79] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[15] | 12 | 56 | |
2017
In 2017, a total of 62 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. The number of attempted jihadist attacks reached 33 in 2017, double that of the previous year. Most of the deaths were in the UK (35), Spain (16), Sweden (5) and France (3). In addition to those killed, a total of 819 people were injured in 14 attacks. The pattern of jihadist attacks in 2017 led Europol to conclude that terrorists preferred to attack ordinary people rather than causing property damage or loss of capital.[80]
According to Europol's annual report on terrorism in the European Union, the jihadist attacks in 2017 had three patterns: indiscriminate killings (London attacks in March and June and Barcelona attacks), attacks on Western lifestyle (the Manchester bombing in May 2017, 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting), and attacks on symbols of authority (Paris attacks in February, June and August). The agency's report also noted that jihadist attacks had caused more deaths and casualties than any other type of terrorist attack, that such attacks had become more frequent, and that there had been a decrease in the sophistication and preparation of the attacks.[80]
In 2017, a total of 705 individuals were arrested in 18 EU Member states, 373 of those in France. Most arrests were on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organisation (354), suspicion of planning (120), or of preparing (112) a terrorist attack.[80]
Date | Location | Article | Details | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 January 2017 | 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting | A mass shooting occurred at a nightclub in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on 1 January 2017. The attack occurred at about 01:15 FET (UTC+3) at the Reina nightclub in Ortaköy, where hundreds of people were celebrating the New Year. At least 39 people were killed and at least 70 were injured in the incident. The gunman was arrested in the city on 17 January 2017, and ISIL claimed credit for his actions.[81] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 39 | 70 | |
22 March 2017 | 2017 Westminster attack | A 52-year-old Muslim convert drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four and injuring over 40 others. He then crashed his car into the fence of the Palace of Westminster and fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman before being shot dead by other officers.[82][83] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 5 (+1 attacker) | 50 | |
3 April 2017 | 2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing | A suicide bomber blew himself up on the St Petersburg Metro, on the day Vladimir Putin was due to visit the city. Sixteen people[84] were killed, including the bomber, and 64 others were injured. Imam Shamil Battalion, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, claimed responsibility,[85] but according to the FSB, the attacker acted on the orders of a field commander from ISIL.[86] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 15 (+1 attacker) | 64 | |
7 April 2017 | 2017 Stockholm attack | An attacker used a truck to run over pedestrians along a shopping street before crashing into a department store. Five people were killed and 14 others wounded. Police said the attacker, an Uzbek immigrant, had shown sympathies for extremist organizations including ISIL.[87] He was sentenced to life in prison and lifetime expulsion from Sweden in June 2018.[88] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 5 | 14 | |
20 April 2017 | April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack | Three police officers and a bystander were shot by an attacker wielding an AK-47 rifle on the Champs-Élysées, a shopping boulevard in Paris. One of the policeman was killed. The attacker was shot dead during the incident. He had a note defending ISIL, and had previously attempted to communicate with ISIL fighters in Iraq and Syria.[53][89] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 1 (+ 1 attacker) | 3 | |
22 May 2017 | Manchester Arena bombing | A suicide bombing was carried out by Salman Ramadan Abedi, a 22-year-old British Muslim of Libyan ancestry, at Manchester Arena after a concert by American singer Ariana Grande, killing 22 civilians.[90] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 22 (+1 attacker) | 512[91][92] | |
3 June 2017 | 2017 London Bridge attack | Three assailants used a van to ram pedestrians on London Bridge and then drove to Borough Market, where the three attacked people with knives before being shot by police. Eight people were killed and 48 were injured.[93] The injured included four unarmed police officers.[94][95] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 8 (+3 attackers) | 48 | |
6 June 2017 | 2017 Notre Dame attack | An Algerian PhD student, who prosecutors allege had pledged allegiance to ISIL in a video, was arrested for using a hammer to attack an officer guarding Notre Dame de Paris. Knives were later found in his rucksack.[96] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 0 | 1 (+1 attacker) | |
19 June 2017 | June 2017 Champs-Élysées car ramming attack | An attacker used a car loaded with guns and explosives to ram a Gendarmerie vehicle on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. The attacker was shot and killed by police. He had pledged his allegiance to ISIL and stated the attack should be treated as a "martyrdom operation."[97] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 0 (+ 1 attacker) | 0 | |
20 June 2017 | June 2017 Brussels attack | A Moroccan immigrant ran into the Brussels Central Station where he detonated a small bomb which caused no injuries. The perpetrator then ran towards soldiers in another part of the station, and was shot and killed. The attack failed.[98][99] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 0 | |
28 July 2017 | 2017 Hamburg attack | A failed 26-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker[100][80] stabbed seven people with a 20 cm-long kitchen knife: one was killed and the other six were injured. In March 2018, he was sentenced to life in prison. The attacker said that "he would die as a martyr" and that "his aim was to kill as many Germans as possible to avenge Muslim suffering worldwide".[101] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 1 | 6 (+1 attacker) | |
9 August 2017 | Levallois-Perret attack | An attacker drove a car into a group of around dozen soldiers taking part in Opération Sentinelle, injuring six.[102] The prosecutor said the suspect had showed interest in ISIL.[103] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 0 | 6 (+1 attacker) | |
16–21 August 2017 | and Cambril, |
2017 Barcelona attacks | On 16 August 2017 two suspects were killed in an initial accidental explosion during the preparation of explosives that were to be used in the attack in Alcanar. 16 were injured when another bomb accidentally exploded during the excavation of the site.[104] On 17 August 2018, a van was driven into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, Barcelona, killing 14 and injuring at least 130. Two suspects then fled on foot, stabbing another civilian to death in the process. The following day, a woman was killed in a related attack in Cambrils when a car tried to run into pedestrians and attackers stabbed people. A policeman shot and killed four of the five attackers while the fifth died later of his injuries.[105] On 21 August, the suspected driver of the Ramblas van attack was shot and killed by police in Subirats.[106]
ISIL claimed responsibility for the Ramblas attack.[107] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] |
16 (+8 attackers) | 152 |
18 August 2017 | 2017 Turku stabbing | Two civilians were killed and eight others where injured by a man inspired by ISIL. The attacker said during interrogation that he started having an interest in ISIL propaganda three months prior to the attack. Police believed he acted alone and there was no evidence of contact with any terrorist organization. The attacker possessed ISIL photos and videos on his mobile phone and his computer. He said a motive for his attack was airstrikes by the Western Coalition during the 2017 Battle of Raqqa in Syria. According to the NBI, his vision was that he would die in the attack as a martyr.[108][109][110] In June 2018, the attacker was convicted of two counts of murder with terrorist intent and eight counts of attempted murder with terrorist intent and sentenced to life in prison.[111] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 2 | 8 (+1 attacker) | |
25 August 2017 | August 2017 Brussels attack | On 25 August 2017 in Brussels on Boulevard Emile Jacqmain, a machete-wielding Somali man was shot dead after attacking two soldiers. One soldier was wounded. Europol classified the incident as jihadist terrorism.[112][113][80] | 0 (+1 attacker) | 1 | |
15 September 2017 | Parsons Green bombing | An attacker placed a bomb containing TATP on a District line train at Parsons Green tube station, it detonated with thirty people treated for injuries.[114][115] The main suspect arrested was an 18-year old Iraqi refugee.[116][117][118] In March 2018, he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison.[119] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 0 | 30 | |
1 October 2017 | Marseille stabbing | Two women, 20 and 21-year-old cousins, were attacked by an illegal immigrant[120] from Tunisia using a knife. Patrolling soldiers shot him dead at the scene. French police were cautious as to whether it was a terrorist attack.[121] ISIL later claimed responsibility, a claim which French intelligence services described as "opportunistic". The prosecutor opened an investigation for "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise".[122] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[80] | 2 (+1 attacker) | 0 | |
2018
In 2018, a total of 13 people were killed and 46 were injured in seven completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. The number of attempted jihadist attacks was 24, down from 33 the previous year. All attacks were carried out by perpetrators acting alone. Europol noted in its 2019 report that generally, individuals who act alone seldom do so in total isolation as attackers often maintain relations in small or loosely defined networks and may receive moral or material support from individuals sharing their ideas. A number of the stopped attacks involved groups of perpetrators. The year saw equal numbers of EU citizens and non-EU citizens carrying out attacks. All attackers were male and their average age was 26.[123]
Date | Location | Article | Details | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 March 2018 | Carcassonne and Trèbes attack | A 26-year-old Moroccan man who pledged allegiance to ISIL made an attack in the French towns of Carcassonne and Trèbes: he attacked and stole a car, killing a passenger and wounding the driver, in Carcassonne. Later he arrived in Trèbes where a police officer was injured when he was shot by the attacker. Then, he attacked a supermarket, where two civilians and a policeman were killed and several people were injured. The attacker was later killed by the police.[124] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[125] | 4 (+1 attacker) | 15 | |
5 May 2018 | A 31-year-old man from The Hague stabbed and seriously hurt three people near train station Hollands Spoor in the city on Saturday afternoon. The police shot the suspect in the leg before arresting him. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[123] | 0 | 3 (+1 attacker) | ||
12 May 2018 | 2018 Paris knife attack | A 21-year-old Franco-Chechen man stabbed one pedestrian to death and injured four others in Paris, France. The attacker was later killed by police.[126] The suspect had been on a counter-terrorism watchlist since 2016. Amaq News Agency posted a video of a hooded figure pledging allegiance to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Amaq claimed this figure was the attacker.[127] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[125] | 1 (+1 attacker) | 4 | |
29 May 2018 | 2018 Liège attack | A man on temporary leave from prison stabbed and then shot two police officers, killing them. He then shot dead a civilian. The gunman took a woman hostage and wounded four others before he was killed by police. He is also believed to have killed a man the day before the attack.[128] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[125] | 4 (+1 attacker) | 4 | |
31 August 2018 | 2018 Amsterdam stabbing attack | A 19-year-old Afghan man stabbed and injured two Americans in Amsterdam Centraal station. The attacker was then shot by a police officer.[129] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[123] | 0 | 2 (+1 attacker) | |
11 December 2018 | 2018 Strasbourg attack | A French citizen with Algerian ancestry attacked people at a Christmas market in Strasbourg with a gun and a knife, killing five civilians and wounding eleven others. The man was killed two days later by police.[130] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[123] | 5 | 11 | |
31 December 2018 | Manchester Victoria stabbing attack | A 25-year-old man with Somali ancestry stabbed three people at Manchester Victoria station before being arrested. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[123] | 0 | 3 | |
2019
In 2019, a total of ten people were killed in three completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. An additional four attacks failed and 14 were foiled. All completed and failed attacks except for one were carried out by perpetrators acting alone, whereas most of the foiled plots involved more than one person.[2]
Date | Location | Article | Details | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 March 2019 | Utrecht tram shooting | A 37-year-old man shot passengers aboard a tram, killing four and seriously wounding two. He was convicted of murder with a terrorist motive in March 2020 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[2] | 4 | 2 | |
24 May 2019 | 2019 Lyon bombing | A 23-year-old man detonated an explosive device in a pedestrian zone, injuring thirteen people. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[2] | 0 | 13 | |
17 September 2019 | A 23-year-old man stabbed an Italian soldier in the neck and in the back with a pair of scissors. The soldier survived the attack.[131] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[2] | 0 | 1 | ||
3 October 2019 | Paris police headquarters stabbing | A police employee stabbed six of his coworkers, killing four of them, before being shot dead.[2][132] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[2] | 4 (+1 attacker) | 2 | |
29 November 2019 | 2019 London Bridge stabbing | A 28-year-old man who had previously been convicted of terrorist crimes stabbed people in central London, killing two and wounding three others, before being shot dead by police.[2][133] Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.[2] | 2 (+1 attacker) | 3 | |
Terrorist plots
This is a list of plots which have been classified as terrorism by a law enforcement agency and/or for which at least one person has been convicted of planning one or more terrorist crimes with Islamist motives.
Article | Date | Location | Details |
---|---|---|---|
1998 World Cup terror plot | June 1998 | More than 100 suspected members of the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) were arrested across several European nations ahead of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.[134] The details of the plot were not disclosed by the law enforcement agencies.[135] | |
Strasbourg Cathedral bombing plot | 31 December 2000 | A group Algerian and French-Algerian men planned to attack Strasbourg Cathedral and the nearby Christmas market on New Year's Eve. They were convicted by a court in Frankfurt for a criminal association with a terrorist enterprise which had links to Islamic networks in Britain, Italy and Spain.[136] | |
2001 bomb plot in Europe | September 2001 | An international network of terrorist cells with links to al-Qaeda and plans to bomb one or more U.S.-associated targets in Western Europe was disrupted in 2001.[137][138][139] | |
April 2002 | In April authorities stopped a cell of the Islamist El-Tawhid movement in the Ruhr area. The cell planned an attack on Jewish community centres in Berlin and Düsseldorf. In 2003 the Jordanian Shadi A. was sentenced to four years in prison.[140] | ||
2002 Strait of Gibraltar terror plot | June 2002 | A number of Saudi nationals were sentenced in 2003 by a Moroccan court for attempting to attack warships in Gibraltar in a plot connected to al Qaeda.[141] | |
Wood Green ricin plot | 2002 | In January 2003, a counter-terrorism operation was launched against an al-Qaeda cell planning to use poison for an attack on U.K. streets. An Algerian man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the plot along with life imprisonment for stabbing a detective to death during his arrest in Manchester.[142] | |
2006 German train bombing attempts | 31 July 2006 | On 31 July 2006, two improvised explosive devices packed in suitcases were placed aboard regional trains. Had the devices functioned as intended, they could have killed around 70 people. The suspects, two Lebanese nationals studying in Germany, were motivated by Jyllands-Posten's publication of Muhammad cartoons and they were caught on CCTV cameras.[143][144] One of the attackers fled to Lebanon after the attack and the other was sentenced to life in prison by the court in Düsseldorf.[143] Europol classified the plot as Islamist terrorism.[144] | |
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot | 10 August 2006 | 10 August 2006 a number of men, predominantly British Pakistanis, were planning to smuggle bomb components aboard transatlantic airliners to assemnble and detonate the bombs while the aircraft were in flight.[144] | |
Vollsmose terrorist trial | 5 September 2006 | [144] | |
2007 bomb plot in Germany | 4 September 2007 | In March 2010, four men, two German converts to Islam, one Turk and one Turk-German were sentenced for having planned bomb attacks against US soldiers. According to the judge, "the four Islamists wanted to create a bloodbath due to religious blindness".[145] | |
2007 bomb plot in Copenhagen | 2007 | Two men, one a Danish citizen born in Pakistan and the other an Afghan citizen living in Denmark were sentenced to twelve and seven years in prison, respectively, for planning a terrorist attack. The prosecution alleged that the men had been in contact with al-Qaeda and that one of them had been at a training camp in Waziristan.[27][146] | |
2007 plot to behead a British Muslim soldier | 2007 | In February 2008, a man with extreme Islamist views was jailed for life along with four other members of the terrorist cell, The plot involved beheading a British soldier with the help of drug dealers in Birmingham.[147] | |
2008 Barcelona terror plot | 2008 | In October 2009, ten Pakistanis and one Indian, a group adhering to extemist Islamist ideology, were convicted by the Audiencia Nacional for possessing explosives and belonging to a terrorist group. Having connections to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, they had intended to plant explosives on the Barcelona Metro as the first of a series of attacks.[148] | |
2010 European terror plot | 2010 | [149] | |
2010 Norway terror plot | 2010 | Oslo District Court convicted two men for plotting an attack against Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten offices in Aarhus and Copenhagen with support from al-Qaeda.[150] | |
2010 Copenhagen terror plot | 2010 | Lebanese-born Swedish citizen Munir Awad, a Swedish-Egyptian and two Tunisian citizens were arrested when plotting to commit a Mumbai-style attack at the Jyllands-Posten office because of the Muhammad cartoons. The head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service said that some of those arrested were militant islamists.[151] They received 12-year prison sentences for terrorist offences in 2012.[152] | |
Hotel Jørgensen explosion | 10 September 2010 | On 10 September 2010, a small explosion took place at Hotel Jørgensen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The only injured person was the one-legged bomber Chechnyan-Belgian Lors Doukaiev who was caught nearby. Investigations showed that Doukaiev had hidden bomb manuals and jihad videos at the home of an acquaintance. The court found that he had planned to attack the newspaper which had published the Muhammad cartoons.[153] | |
December 2010 | Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah, inspired by al-Qaeda, were arrested in December 2010 for plotting to place a bomb in the London Stock Exchange. The men also planned sending letter bombs and conducting a Mumbai-style attack.[154] In the trial, the four and a further five, all of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin, were described as Islamist fundamentalists.[155] | ||
2014 Norway terror threat | 24–31 July 2014 | The Norwegian Police Security Service said on 24 July 2014 that there was an imminent threat of an attack by people linked to Islamists in Syria.[156] Security measures were introduced for a week until the threat was deemed reduced.[157] | |
October 2014 | A man of Moroccan origin was arrested in October 2014, North Kensington.[158] On 24 March 2016 he and his childhood friend were convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to murder and preparation of acts of terrorism. The pair had planned to carry out shootings of police, soldiers and civilians. A further two suspects were cleared of terrorism charges but convicted for supplying a gun.[159][158] | ||
2015 Kundby bomb plot | 2015 | A 17-year-old girl planned to attack a school in Fårevejle Stationsby and a private Jewish school in Copenhagen, the attack was scheduled to take place in early 2016, using home-made bombs. In May 2017, she was tried and found guilty in the district court (Danish: byret) of Holbæk and was sentenced to six years in jail. She appealed the verdict and was tried by the Østre Landsret which found her guilty of planning to carry out terrorism with jihadist motive.[160] | |
May 2015 | In May 2015, a married couple were arrested for planning an attack on the Westfield London shopping centre to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. On 30 December 2015 they were found guilty of preparing an act of terrorism by the Old Bailey court; the man was sentenced to 27 years in prison and the woman 25 years in prison.[161] | ||
Rawti Shax | Autumn 2015 | In autumn 2015 securiy police in Italy dismantled a terrorist cell in Trento. Its spiritual leader was Mullah Krekar who was later extradited from Norway. Following appeal, Rahim Karim Twana and Hamasalih Wahab Awat were each sentenced to nine years in prison. Abdul Rahman Rahim Zana, Jalal Fatah Kamil and Hamad Bakr were sentenced to seven and a half years each in prison. Krekar was sentenced to 12 years in prison.[162][163][164] | |
17 November 2015 | A football friendly between Germany and the Netherlands and labelled a "symbol of freedom" in the aftermath of the Paris attacks was cancelled and the spectators evacuated shortly before the match, due to a bomb threat.[165] A German newspaper later claimed that a French intelligence dossier, detailing plans to carry out five bombings, had prompted the Germans to order the evacuation.[166] | ||
2016 | A man was arrested in 2016 as he was driving around in Eindhoven wearing a balaclava. Maps of Volkel and Leeuwarden air bases were found on his computer.[167] The Gerechtshof Den Haag found that the suspect was under the influence of Islamic State ideology, that he had terrorist motives and that he had prepared attacks on military targets and prime minister Rutte.[168][169] | ||
February 2016 | 20-year-old Sevigin was detained in February 2016 for attempting to construct a splinter bomb. He was sentenced to five years in prison by Attunda district court for breaching the terrorist laws. The psychiatric evaluation concluded that he was acting from his religious conviction.[170][171][172] Previously he had travelled to Turkey in an attempt to join the Islamic State.[170] | ||
26 March 2016 | A man was arrested on 26 March 2016 by MI5 when a handgun, a pipe bomb and a cleaver inscribed with the word "kafir" (English: unbeliever) was found in his car. His neighbour in the Sparkhill area was arrested as were two others. A sword was found in one of the men's car. Two of them had previously been arrested and jailed in 2013 for going to an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan.[173] All four were convicted of preparation of an act of terrorism in August 2017.[173] | ||
2016 Düsseldorf terrorism plot | 2 June 2016 | Four migrants were arrested on suspicions of being part of a cell of up to ten ISIL terrorists from Syria who had planned to launch attacks in Düsseldorf similar to the November 2015 Paris attack.[15][174][175] Europol classified the plot as jihadist terrorism.[15] | |
13 September 2016 | In mid September 2016 three Syrian refugees, 17–26 years old were apprehended by special forces in Germany in different locations in Schleswig-Holstein.[176][177] This was one of the two terrorist cells the Islamic State sent to Europe in 2015 to carry out attacks in Europe, the other carried out the November 2015 Paris attacks.[178] In March 2018 a court in Hamburg (German: Hanseatische Oberlandesgericht) were sentenced in a 30-day trial for being members of the Islamic State terror organisation. The eldest of the three was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, the other two received three years and six months respectively.[178] | ||
2016 Balkans terrorism plot | 17 November 2016 | 18 people were arrested over ten days across Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania, after a suspected plot to attack the Israeli national football team and Israeli supporters during an Albania-Israel match.[179][180] Kosovo police said the attack was planned by Islamic terrorists.[180] | |
2016 Ludwigshafen bombing plot | 26 November 2016
5 December 2016 |
A 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy was directed by a 19-year-old ISIL supporter to build nail bombs.[181][182] One bomb was planted at the local Christmas market on 26 November and another near a shopping centre on 5 December; both failed to detonate. The 19-year-old along with a 15-year-old girl to whom he was married according to Islamic law also planned an attack against USAF Ramstein Air Base. The 19-year-old was declared guilty of membership in a terrorist organisation and directing a terrorist attack and sentenced to 9 years in prison by a court in Vienna.[183][184][185] | |
2016 Copenhagen terror plot | November 2016 | A 19-year-old Syrian refugee who had arrived in Germany in 2015 and had subsequently been radicalized took part in plans to plant bombs in Copenhagen. In November 2016 he was apprehended while attempting to enter Denmark with matches, batteries and radios under instruction from an accomplice.[186][187] In court he maintained he was only a courier to deliver materials to his accomplice in Denmark, while authorities said that the facts that he had not bought a return ticket and had written what were interpreted as farewell letters in his phone pointed towards him having planned to participate in the attacks. He was found to be an IS-sympathizer and to have planned mass murder as part of political violence (German: "schwerer staatsgefährdender Gewalt").[188][189][190][191] The accused, by then 21 years old, was sentenced by Ravensburger Landgericht in June 2017 to more than six years in prison.[192] In April 2019, his accomplice, a 32-year-old Syrian refugee living in Malmö, Sweden, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for having planned to plant bombs and to attack people with knives in Copenhagen on behalf of the Islamic State.[193][194][195][196] | |
December 2016 | A 31-year-old man was sentenced to four years for planning a terrorist attack. The court also found him guilty of possessing and distributing jihadist propaganda.[197] | ||
December 2016 | A man who arrived in 2011 from Dagenstan and a close acquaintance of the 2016 Berlin truck attack, tunisian Anis Amri, planned an attack against a target in Berlin using explosives. The court found that he supported radical islamism and was found guilty of preparing a terrorist attack.[198][199] | ||
27 April 2017 | A man armed with knives was arrested on 27 April 2017 near Parliament Square in London.[200] He was found to have planned a knife attack. He declared himself to investigators to be an Islamic warrior (mujahid) and that he was engaged in jihad.[201] In July 2018, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for preparing terrorist acts in Britain and a minimum of 40 years for previously having made explosives for the Taliban in Afghanistan.[202] | ||
July 2017 | A 17-year-old boy was arrested in July 2017. He pleaded guilty to disseminating violent Islamic State propaganda prior to the trial. On his mobile phone, police found chat conversations where he discussed stabbing attacks and suicide attacks. In March 2019 he was convicted of planning a terror attack.[203] | ||
2017 | Four women were arrested in 2017 for planning attacks, including one on the British Museum. In 2018 they were convicted on terrorist charges, with one of the women becoming the youngest female terrorist linked to the Islamic State.[204] Three of the four were found guilty of involvement in planning attacks,[205][206] while the fourth was found guilty of failing to disclose information about the plots.[207] | ||
26 April 2018 | A car ramming was thwarted by police in Naples after the arrest of a man of Gambian origins. He pledged allegiance to the Islamic State leader.[208] | ||
30 April 2018 | On 30 April 2018, 46-year-old man who had arrived as a refugee from Uzbekistan was arrested when police searched and found explosives on his property. In March 2019 he was sentenced to 7 years in prison for planning a terrorist attack in Sweden in the name of the Islamic State and financing serious crime. He was also given a deportation order and a ban from returning to Sweden again.[209][210] Four other men were sentenced for falsifying documents or financing serious crime and received prison sentences ranging from 1 to 6 months in prison.[210] | ||
2018 Cologne terrorist plot | 13 June 2018 | A Tunisian man was convicted for attempting to use a biochemical weapon to conduct a terrorist attack in the name of the Islamic State. He had previously twice tried to join the Islamic State unsuccessfully. In March 2020 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.[211][212][213][214]
In June 2020, Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf found the man's wife guilty of preparing a bombing alongside her husband in order to kill "infidels".[213] | |
2018 | A group in Kosovo with plans to attack multiple targets including NATO soldiers and orthodox churches were arrested in 2018. Three men and one woman with connections to the Islamic State were convicted of planning terrorist attacks and sentenced to between 1 and 10 years in prison. An additional two people were convicted of failing to report the plans.[215][216][217] | ||
August 2019 | Three Iraqi refugees were apprehended in Dithmarschen by special police units, among the latter a GSG 9 unit. They came under suspicion after having accessed bomb making instructions, made bomb tests, attempted to acquire bomb fuses and a handgun and taken driving lessons in order to do a vehicle ramming attack.[218] The trial concluded in November 2019. According to the Hamburg Oberlandesgreicht, it was proven two of the accused, cousins who arrived in 2016 in Germany, wanted to kill as many "infidels" as possible in a bomb attack motivated by Islamism and they were sentenced to almost five years in prison.[219] The third accused was found guilty of trying to procure the handgun and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.[220] |
Response to terrorism
Arrests for suspicion of jihadist-related terrorist offences in the European Union 2006–2017 |
2016,[48] 2017,[15] 2018,[80] 2019,[123] 2020.[2] |
According to Europol, the number of people arrested on suspicion of jihadist-related terrorist offences in the European Union increased from 395 in 2014 to 687 in 2015.[48]
In 2015, most arrests were made in France (377), followed by Spain (75) and Belgium (60); statistics for the United Kingdom were not available.[48] During 2015, jihadist terrorism related verdicts were 198 out of a total of 527 terrorism related verdicts.[48] The average sentence for jihadist terrorism increased from 4 years in 2014 to 6 years.[48] In Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden, all terrorism verdicts concerned jihadist terrorism.[48]
In 2016, a total of 718 people were arrested on suspicion of jihadist-related terrorist offences in the European Union.[15] During 2016, 358 verdicts on jihadi terrorism were delivered by courts in the EU, the vast majority of all terrorism verdicts. Belgium had the highest number of such verdicts at 138. All terrorism verdicts in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal and Sweden related to jihadist terrorism. Of those convicted for jihadist terrorist offences, 22 were women, such offences were punished with an average sentence of 5 years in prison.[15]
After the vehicle-ramming attack, European countries began equipping pedestrian areas with barriers.[20]
In 2017, the total number of arrests was 705.[80] During 2017, 352 verdicts on jihadi terrorism were delivered by courts in the EU, this was the vast majority of all terrorist convictions (569). The average sentence remained at 5 years in prison. The country with the highest number of jihadist convictions was France with 114.[222]
In 2017, according to Gilles de Kerchove, the European Union's Counter-terrorism Coordinator, the United Kingdom had the highest number of known Islamist radicals of any European country at around 20 to 25 thousand. de Kerchove said that three thousand of those were considered a direct threat by MI5 and 500 were under constant surveillance.[223]
A number of European countries—Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—made legal changes which enable deprivation of citizenship of individuals engaged in terrorism if they have dual citizenship.[224]
Article | Date | Location |
---|---|---|
Opération Sentinelle | 12 January 2015 – ongoing | |
2015 anti-terrorism operations in Belgium | 15 January 2015 | |
Operation Ruben | 6–7 May 2015 | |
2015 Saint-Denis raid | 17–18 November 2015 | |
2016 Brussels police raids | 15–18 March 2016 | |
2016 Balkans terrorism plot | 4–16 November 2016 | |
2017 St. Petersburg raid | 13–14 December 2017 | |
See also
Notes
- This corresponds to the reports released in 2007–2011, 2012–2015, and 2016 and onwards, respectively. The year in the TE-SAT title is the year it was released, which is the year after the year the events it deals with occurred.
- failed, foiled, and completed
- not including attackers
References
- "EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (Te-Sat)". Europol. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- "European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend report (TE-SAT) 2020". Europol. pp. 33, 35–36. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- Emmanuel Guerisoli. "The New-Old Terror Wave in Europe". Public Seminar. 13 September 2017. Quote: "Europe is currently in a new expansionist phase of this latest cycle of terror. [...] The Brussels Jewish Museum attack in May 2014 is the first incident of this new expansive phase".
- Maria do Céu Pinto Arena. Islamic Terrorism in the West and International Migrations: The 'Far' or 'Near' Enemy Within?. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, May 2017. p.15.
- "Deaths from terrorism in Europe have spiked since 2014". The Irish Times. 16 June 2017.
- Petter Nesser, Anne Stenersen and Emilie Oftedal. "Jihadi Terrorism in Europe: The IS-Effect". Perspectives on Terrorism, volume 10, issue 6. December 2016. pp.3–4
- Seamus Hughes. "Allies Under Attack: The Terrorist Threat to Europe". Program on Extremism – George Washington University. 27 June 2017.
- Maria do Céu Pinto Arena. Islamic Terrorism in the West and International Migrations: The 'Far' or 'Near' Enemy Within?. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, May 2017. pp.15, 20
- "Vurdering af terrortruslen mod Danmark". pet.dk. Danish Security and Intelligence Service. January 2018. p. 5.
Gerningsmændene til angreb i Europa har i mange tilfælde været kendt af sikkerhedsmyndighederne i forvejen for at nære sympati for militant islamisme. Der har også været tilfælde, hvor personer gennemgik en meget hurtig radikalisering eller har haft psykiske eller andre personlige problemer. Siden efteråret 2015 har en række personer indrejst med flygtningestrømmen været involveret i angreb, herunder afviste asylansøgere.
- EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2015. EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (Te-Sat). Europol. 2015. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-92-95200-56-2.
- Petter Nesser, Anne Stenersen and Emilie Oftedal. "Jihadi Terrorism in Europe: The IS-Effect". Perspectives on Terrorism, volume 10, issue 6. December 2016. pp.12–13
- "EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (Te-Sat)". Europol. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- Lorenzo, Vidino (2017). Fear thy neighbor : radicalization and jihadist attacks in the West. Marone, Francesco,, Entenmann, Eva,, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism,, George Washington University. Program on Extremism,, Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale (Milan, Italy) (First ed.). Milano, Italy. pp. 21, 34–35. ISBN 9788867056217. OCLC 990195278.
- Hussey, Andrew (30 July 2016). "France church attack: Even if you are not a Catholic, this feels like a new and deeper wound". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2017. EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (Te-Sat). Europol. 2017. pp. 6, 22–28, 33–35, 52. ISBN 978-92-95200-79-1.
- "Religiösa hatpredikanter styr islamistisk terror i Europa". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 28 December 2017.
Av de inblandade individerna i terrordåden går det, av polisens och åklagarnas utredningar att döma, att koppla minst två tredjedelar, 44 av 68, till någon eller några religiösa ledare. Det visar rapporter från Europol, amerikanska UD, och analyser i internationella medier. [Of the individuals involved in the terror attacks it is possible, according to the police's and prosecutors' investigations, to link at least two thirds, 44 out of 68, to one or several religious leaders. This is shown by reports from Europol, the American DOS, and analyses in international media.]
- "El coordinador antiterrorista de la UE: "Lo de Barcelona volverá a pasar, hay 50.000 radicales en Europa"". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- "Qui sont les 15 000 personnes " suivies pour radicalisation " ?". Le Monde.fr (in French). Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- "Huge scale of terror threat revealed: UK home to 23,000 jihadists". The Times. 27 May 2017.
- "Barcelona tourist area targeted in deadly vehicle attack". PBS NewsHour. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- Archetti, Cristina (29 October 2012). Understanding Terrorism in the Age of Global Media: A Communication Approach. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 103. ISBN 9780230360495.
The London think tank, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) [...]
- "Criminal Pasts, Terrorist Futures: European Jihadists and the New Crime-Terror Nexus / ICSR". The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- Storm, Linde. "Dschihadisten als Elitetruppe des Islams. Eine klare Ablehnung dieser Position durch islamische Verbände in Deutschland fehlt / Von Susanne Schröter". www.normativeorders.net (in German). Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- Nesser, Petter (5 December 2018). "Europe hasn't won the war on terror". POLITICO. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- Stephen Castle (September 2005). "Life in jail for brutal killer of Dutch film-maker Van Gogh". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 2010.
- Roško, Marko; Musladin, Marijana; Kazanský, Rastislav (30 December 2019). "Counter-Terrorism in the United Kingdom: Sustainable Measure or Violation of Human Rights". Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues: 608. doi:10.9770/jssi.2019.9.2(19). ISSN 2029-7025.
On the 7th of July 2005, London experienced its first Islamic terrorist attack.
- TE-SAT 2008 : EU terrorism situation and trend report (PDF). Europol. The Hague: Europol. 2008. pp. 17–18, 51. ISBN 9789295018730. OCLC 937975895.CS1 maint: others (link)
- EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2010. EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (Te-Sat). Europol. 2010. pp. 20–21, 51. ISBN 9789295018808.
- "The October 2009 Terrorist Attack in Italy and its Wider Implications". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- "Bosnian court jails Islamist for 45 years over bomb attack". Reuters. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- "Haris Čaušević osuđen na 35 godina zatvora". Al Jazeera Balkans (in Bosnian). 15 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- Europol. (2011). TE-SAT 2011 EU terrorism situation and trend report. Haag: European Police Office. pp. 15–16. ISBN 9789295018860. OCLC 780701630.
- "Kurt Westergaard udsat for drabsforsøg". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- "Terrorprozess: Lebenslang für Arid Uka". rtl.de (in German). Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
"Wir haben es hier tatsächlich mit dem ersten islamistisch motivierten Terroranschlag auf deutschem Boden zu tun", sagte der Vorsitzende Richter Thomas Sagebiel in seiner Urteilsbegründung. ["We are actually dealing here with the first Islamist-motivated terrorist attack on German soil," said Judge Thomas Sagebiel in his verdict.]
- Union, Publications Office of the European (29 April 2013). "TE-SAT 2013 : EU terrorism situation and trend report". publications.europa.eu. doi:10.2813/11445. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- "Kosher market bombers go to trial in Paris". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- "A Strasbourg, les voisins de Jérémy Louis-Sidney cherchent à comprendre". Libération.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- EU Terrorism situation and trend report 2013. Europol. 2013. p. 17. ISBN 978-92-95078-76-5.
- "Filière jihadiste de Cannes-Torcy: jusqu'à 28 ans de prison". L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- "French terror cell members sentenced over Jewish grocery attack". 23 June 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2014. EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (Te-Sat). Europol. 2014. p. 21. ISBN 978-92-95078-87-1.
- "Militaire poignardé à la Défense: son agresseur déclaré irresponsable". BFMTV (in French). 5 November 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- "Brussels Jewish Museum killings Suspect 'admitted attack'". BBC News. BBC. June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- "Pourquoi Mehdi Nemmouche est le principal suspect de la tuerie de Bruxelles". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1 June 2014. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
"Assassination attempt linked to a terrorist attempt" (« Tentative d'assassinat en lien avec une entreprise terroriste »); "In suspect's luggage, policemen have also found a video of 40 seconds including ISIS flag" ("Dans les bagages du suspect, les policiers ont aussi trouvé une vidéo d'une quarantaine de secondes, comportant le drapeau de l'Etat islamique")
- "Brussels Jewish museum terror trial begins". BBC News. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- "French police shoot dead knifeman who was shouting Islamic slogans". The Daily Telegraph. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- Leveille, David (22 December 2014). "France endures deadly attacks". Public Radio International. Reuters (credited in; not copy of). Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2016. EU Terrorism Situation & Trend Report (Te-Sat). Europol. 2016. pp. 22–28, 47. ISBN 978-92-95200-68-5.
- Van Ginkel, Bibi; Boutin, Bérénice; Chauzal, Grégory; Dorsey, Jessica; Jegerings, Marjolein; Paulussen, Christophe; Pohl, Johanna; Reed, Alastair; Zavagli, Sofia (1 April 2016). "The Foreign Fighters Phenomenon in the European Union. Profiles, Threats & Policies". Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Studies: 46. doi:10.19165/2016.1.02.
- "French security forces kill gunmen, end terror rampage". 9 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- "French security forces kill gunmen to end terror rampage; 20 dead in 3 days of violence". 9 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- "Al Qaeda branch claims Charlie Hebdo attack was years in the making". CNN. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- "A catalogue of terror in France". Yahoo News. AFP. 21 April 2017.
- "Danish police kill 22-year-old suspected of Copenhagen shootings". Reuters. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- Barrett, David (23 August 2015). "Revealed: The mystery man who tackled AK-47 assault rifle from train gunman". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- "France train shooting: Hollande thanks 'heroes' who foiled gunman". BBC. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- Bolton, Doug (17 September 2015). "Islamic extremist shot dead in Berlin after stabbing police officer". The Independent. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- Elgot, Jessica; Phipps, Claire; Bucks, Jonathan (14 November 2015). "Paris attacks: day after atrocity – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- Hall, John (12 January 2016). "Marseille machete attack: 15-year-old suspect claims he stabbed Jewish teacher 'in the name of Isis'". The Independent.
- Lilla, Mark (10 March 2016). "France: Is there a way out?". New York Review of Books. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- "Turkey: 'IS suicide bomber' kills 10 in Istanbul Sultanahmet district". BBC news. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- "Police identifies Istanbul bomber as ISIL member – CRIME". Hürriyet Daily News – LEADING NEWS SOURCE FOR TURKEY AND THE REGION. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- "Bombing killed 31 people in Brussels". BBC News. 22 March 2016.
- The Straits Times, World (2 July 2016). "Toll rises to 45 as child dies". Straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- AP, The Big Story (30 June 2016). "Turkish authorities identify suicide bombers". Bigstory.ap.org. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- "France Says Truck Attacker Was Tunisia Native With Record of Petty Crime". 16 July 2016 – via The New York Times.
- Roberts, Elizabeth. "ISIS inspired German train attacker, official says". CNN.
- Frederik Pleitgen; Tim Hume; Euan McKirdy. "Ansbach suicide bomber pledged allegiance to ISIS". CNN. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- Troianovski, Anton; Buell, Todd (25 July 2016). "Ansbach Bombing in Germany Believed to Be Islamist Terror Attack". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- "Erster Selbstmordanschlag in Deutschland – Bundesanwaltschaft übernimmt Ermittlungen" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 25 July 2016.
- "Seine Maritime : Prise d'otage dans une église". 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- Willsher, Kim; Borger, Julian (26 July 2016). "Men who murdered priest in Normandy church were Isis followers, says Hollande". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- "Belgique : attaque à l'arme blanche, l'agresseur neutralisé". 6 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- "Belgique : l'État islamique revendique l'attaque de Charleroi". FIGARO (in French). 6 August 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
"ISIS claims Charleroi's attack" ("l'État islamique revendique l'attaque de Charleroi"); le premier ministre Charles Michel a indiqué qu'une enquête a été ouverte par la justice belge pour «tentative d'assassinat terroriste».); "The Prime minister Charles Michel has indicated an inquiry has been open by Belgian justice for "terroris assassination attempt". The Prime Minister has stated that "a certain number of elements have appeared immediately" to justify the type of this inquiry including the fact that the perpetrator had shoulted "Allah Akbar" ("le premier ministre Charles Michel a indiqué qu'une enquête a été ouverte par la justice belge pour «tentative d'assassinat terroriste». Le premier ministre a évoqué «qu'un certain nombre d'éléments sont apparus immédiatement» pour justifier le caractère de cette enquête dont le fait que l'assaillant avait crié «Allah akbar».")
- "Пострадавший в результате нападения на пост ДПС полицейский скончался". 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- "ISIS claims attack on traffic police officers near Moscow". 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- "Bruxelles, accoltellati due poliziotti: "E' terrorismo" – Tgcom24". Tgcom24.mediaset.it. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- "The Latest: Mother of Berlin attacker: Who was behind him?". U.S. News. The Associated Press. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- Nachlese, Die Entwicklungen vom Dienstag in der. "Anschlag am Breitscheidplatz: IS reklamiert Anschlag auf Weihnachtsmarkt in Berlin für sich". Retrieved 21 December 2016 – via Sueddeutsche.de.
- European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2018 (TE SAT 2018) (PDF). Europol. 2018. pp. 5–9, 22–25, 35–36. ISBN 978-92-95200-91-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- Euan McKirdy, Holly Yan and Ian Lee. "Istanbul attack: ISIS claims nightclub shooting; killer still at large". CNN. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- "The final WhatsApp message sent by Westminster attacker Khalid Masood has been released by security agencies". 27 April 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- Dodd, Vikram; Parveen, Nazia; MacAskill, Ewen; Grierson, Jamie (24 March 2017). "Police unravel multiple aliases of Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood". Retrieved 18 August 2017 – via The Guardian.
- "Opferzahl nach Anschlag auf Sankt Petersburger U-Bahn wächst auf 15". RT (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- "Alleged AQ-Linked Group Claims St. Petersburg Metro Bombing". SITE Intelligence Group. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- "Ошский джихад пришел из Сирии". Gazeta.ru (in Russian).
- "Uzbek suspect in Swedish attack sympathized with Islamic State: police". Reuters. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- "Stockholm terrorist Rakhmat Akilov sentenced to life in prison – DN.SE". DN.SE (in Swedish). 7 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- "Paris: French police officer killed in terrorist shooting on Champs Elysées". The Local. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- Topping, Alexandra (24 May 2017). "Go sing with the angels': families pay tribute to Manchester victims". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- "Arena bomb victims' inquests delayed". BBC News. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
[...] injured 512 at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on 22 May.
- "Manchester bomber's brother could be extradited to Britain". The Independent. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
In all 512 people were either physically injured or left “profoundly traumatised”, Mr Jackson said, with 112 hospitalised.
- Evans, Martin (10 June 2017). "London Bridge terrorists were thwarted in attempt to hire a 7.5 tonne truck on day of atrocity". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- Steven Erlanger (3 June 2016). "Another Terrorist Attack Strikes the Heart of London". The New York Times.
- "London terror attack: what we know so far". The Guardian. 5 June 2017.
- Willsher, Kim (7 June 2017). "Paris police shoot man who attacked officer outside Notre-Dame Cathedral". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- "Prosecutor: Champs-Elysees attacker pledged allegiance to IS". ABC News. Associated Press. 22 June 2017.
- "Suspected suicide bomber shot at Brussels railway station". bbc.co.uk.
- "'Suspected suicide bomber carrying rucksack of explosives' shot by soldiers at Brussels Central Station". mirror.co.uk.
- "Hamburger Messerstecher wollte Attentat mit Lkw begehen". HAZ – Hannoversche Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- "Hamburg knife attacker gets life in prison". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- Patel-Carstairs, Sunita (9 August 2017). "Man held after terror attack on French soldiers". Sky News. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- "Man arrested in French car attack had radical beliefs". Associated Press. 23 August 2017.
- "Cambrils, Barcelona and Alcanar incidents 'related'". ITV News. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
- "Un solo Mosso de Esquadra abatió a cuatro de los terroristas de Cambrils". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- "Barcelona van attack driver shot dead". BBC News. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- Hatton, Barry; Wilson, Joseph (17 August 2017). "Barcelona attack: Van driver kills 13, injures 100". CTV News. The Associated Press. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- "Finnish police: Main suspect in Turku attack is 18-year-old Moroccan". Yle Uutiset. 19 August 2017. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- "Turku knife attack assailant confirmed as asylum seeker". Helsinki Times. 19 August 2017. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- "Turku attack suspect had appealed negative asylum decision". Yle Uutiset. 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- "Finland's first terror attack: Life sentence for Turku stabber". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- Joshi, Priya (25 August 2017). "Man shot in Brussels after attacking soldiers with machete". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- Staff, Our Foreign (25 August 2017). "Machete-wielding man shot dead in Brussels terror attack after attacking soldiers". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- "The Parsons Green bomb had the hallmarks of an ISIS-favoured chemical explosive, according to security experts". Business Insider. 15 September 2017.
- "Tube blast is terror incident, say police". BBC. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- "Tube attack: police search three properties as terror threat downgraded". The Guardian. 18 September 2017.
- "Report: The Parsons Green bomb could have been constructed in a Surrey garden shed". Business Insider. 19 September 2017.
- "London: Police charge teen over Parsons Green attack". Al Jazeera. 22 September 2017.
- "Parsons Green Tube bomber jailed for life". 23 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- "INFO FRANCE 2. Marseille: les autorités tunisiennes ont identifié l'auteur de l'attaque au couteau comme étant Ahmed Hanachi, un de leurs ressortissants" (in French). France Télévisions. 2 October 2017.
- Chrisafis, Angelique (1 October 2017). "Man shot dead by French army after killing two people at Marseille train station". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- Zemouri, Aziz (2 October 2017). "Marseille : le caractère terroriste de l'attaque confirmé par le procureur". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2019. Europol. 27 June 2019. pp. 8, 13–14, 30–32. doi:10.2813/788404. ISBN 978-92-95209-76-3.
- "French police shoot supermarket gunman". 23 March 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
- "Terrorist threat in the EU remains high despite the decline of IS in Iraq and Syria". Europol. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- CNBC (12 May 2018). "Paris knife attack leaves 1 dead, 4 injured". CNBC. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- "Who is the Paris attacker responsible for stabbing five people, killing one?". The Independent. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- "Belgium gunman 'had killed the day before'". BBC News. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- "Jihadist knifeman shot in nine seconds". BBC News. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- "Strasbourg shooting: What we know". BBC. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- "Milano, ferisce un militare e poi urla "Allah akbar": arrestato per attentato terroristico". TGCOM24 (in Italian). 17 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- Blavignat, Yohan (4 October 2019). "Attaque à la préfecture de police de Paris: qui sont les victimes?". Le Figaro.fr (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- "London Bridge: What we know". BBC News. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- "Europe Overview". Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1998. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (United States Department of State). April 1999.
- Kuper, Simon (26 May 2002). "The World's Game Is Not Just A Game". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- "Jail for Strasbourg bomb plotters". 16 December 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- "Thwarting terror cells in Europe". CNN. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- Henley, Jon (3 October 2001). "Paris plot reveals link to terror chief". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- Rotella, Sebastian (1 October 2003). "18 Convicted in Al Qaeda-Tied Belgian Trial". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- "Anschläge in Deutschland fast immer vereitelt". www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- Richardson, Michael (2004). A Time Bomb for Global Trade: Maritime-related Terrorism in an Age of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 19–20. ISBN 9789812302465.
- "The June 2018 Cologne Ricin Plot: A New Threshold in Jihadi Bio Terror – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- "Train plotter jailed in Germany". 9 December 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2007 (PDF). The Hague: Europol. 2007. p. 18.
- "Urteil im Terrorprozess: Gericht verhängt hohe Haftstrafen gegen Sauerland-Gruppe". Spiegel Online. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
Nach Ansicht der Richter wollten die vier Islamisten aus religiöser Verblendung in der Bundesrepublik ein Blutbad anrichten.
- "To unge og upåvirkede terrordømte". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). 21 October 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- "Soldier kidnap plotter given life". 18 February 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- "A Case Study of the January 2008 Suicide Bomb Plot in Barcelona". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- Norton-Taylor, Richard; Bowcott, Owen (28 September 2010). "'Mumbai-style' terror attack on UK, France and Germany foiled". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- Torgersen, Hans O. "Retten: Davud planla terror sammen med al-Qaida". Aftenposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- Walker, Peter; agencies (29 December 2010). "Denmark and Sweden arrest five over suspected 'Mumbai-style' terror plot". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "12 års fængsel for terrorplaner mod JP/Politiken". Journalisten (in Danish). 31 January 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- "Lors Dukajev får 12 års fængsel for terror-plan". Politiken (in Danish). 31 May 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- "Four admit planning London bomb". 1 February 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "Nine men jailed over terror plot". 9 February 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "Norway boosts security in Syria-linked terror alert". BBC News. 24 July 2014.
- "Terrortrusselen mot Norge redusert". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 31 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- "Man arrested on terror charges may have just returned from Somalia". The Independent. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "Drive-by shooting plotters convicted | MI5 – The Security Service". www.mi5.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
The Old Bailey trial heard that plot leader Hassane, inspired by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), had been determined to carry out a terrorist attack in the UK.
- "Landsretten: Kundby-pige skyldig i terrorforsøg". sn.dk (in Danish). 24 November 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
I kendelsen fra Østre Landsret hedder det, at flertallet »finder det bevist, at tiltalte af ekstremistisk funderede grunde – hendes ønske om at udføre »jihad« mod »de vantro« – havde til hensigt at udøve terror.«
- "'Silent Bomber' Mohammed Rehman and wife Sana Ahmed Khan sentenced to life in prison". The Independent. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- "Mullah Krekar arrested in Norway after Italian terrorism verdict - English". ANSA.it. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "Mullah Krekar convictions upheld (6) - English Service". ANSA.it. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "Il Mullah Krekar condannato a 12 anni per terrorismo - TGR Bolzano". TGR. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "Bomb threat leads to cancellation of Germany-Netherlands 'freedom' football friendly". abc.net.au. 17 November 2015.
- "'Five bombings planned' in Germany according to French intelligence dossier". The Telegraph. 20 November 2015.
- "Alsnog dwangverpleging voor terreurverdachte Hasan A." NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- "Eindhovense terreurverdachte krijgt 2,5 jaar cel en tbs" (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- "Straf opgelegd voor voorbereiden aanslag met terroristisch motief" (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- "Teaching student jailed over Sweden terror plot". www.thelocal.se. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- "Terrormisstänkte lärarstudenten Aydin Sevigin inte psyksjuk". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- "Aydin Sevigin får fängelse för förberedelse till terrorbrott". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- Casciani, Dominic (2 August 2017). "Inside the sting that caught four jihadis". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "Chronology: Terror plots in Germany". Deutsche Welle. 4 November 2016.
The Eschborn-Frankfurt City loop bike race was called off after German police discovered it may have been the target of an Islamist terror attack.
- "Düsseldorf terror plot 'bigger than previously realized'". The Local. 3 June 2016.
- NDR. "Großalarm in kleinen Gemeinden wegen mutmaßlicher IS-Helfer" (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- NDR. "Terrorverdächtige: Ermittler zeichnen Weg nach" (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- NDR. "Mehrjährige Haftstrafen im IS-Prozess" (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- Dearden, Lizzie (17 November 2016). "Isis attack on Israeli football team foiled by police at World Cup qualifier in Albania". World News. The Independent.
- Stanglin, Doug (17 November 2016). "Kosovo thwarts 'synchronized' Islamic State terror attacks". News. USA Today.
- Islamist muss neun Jahre in Haft, Frankfurter Allgemeine
- Isis directs 12-year-old boy to attempt bombing of German Christmas market, Independent.co.uk, 16 December 2016
- "Er war bis in die Zehenspitzen radikalisiert". krone.at (in German). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- "Neun Jahre Haft für Terror-Teenie Lorenz K.". JurPC: 6. 2008. doi:10.7328/jurpcb/200823226. ISSN 1615-5335.
- "Anschlagspläne in Deutschland: Islamist muss neun Jahre in Haft". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- WELT (19 June 2017). "Ravensburg: Flüchtling vor Gericht – "Der IS war mein Leben"". DIE WELT. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- GmbH, Südwest Presse Online-Dienste (11 July 2017). "Gericht: Terror-Prozess: Staatsanwaltschaft fordert Jugendstrafe von 5 Jahren". swp.de (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- Germany, Süddeutsche de GmbH, Munich. "Flüchtling räumt Anschlagspläne in Dänemark teilweise ein". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- "Täter zu "100 Prozent IS-gefärbt"" (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- Bäßler, Rüdiger. "Flüchtling verurteilt in Ravensburg: Mehr als sechs Jahre Haft für Terrorpläne" [More than six years in prison for terrorist plans]. stuttgarter-nachrichten.de (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- "21-årig syrer skal 6,5 år i fængsel for terrorplaner i København". DR (in Danish). 12 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
Den tyske anklagemyndighed har dog fra retssagens begyndelse ment, at der er klare beviser på, at den tiltalte selv ville begå udåden. Eksempelvis fandt man efter anholdelsen en række breve på hans telefon, som man mener var afskedsbreve. Desuden havde den 21-årige syrer ikke nogen returbillet til Tyskland, han havde intet skiftetøj og næsten ingen penge.
- "Ravensburg: Anschlagspläne in Dänemark: Landgericht Ravensburg verurteilt Flüchtling zu über sechs Jahren Haft". Südkurier (in German). 12 July 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- "Syrer dømt skyldig i terrorplaner i sagen med de 17.460 tændstikker". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 12 April 2019.
I Tyskland sidder en anden ung syrisk statsborger dømt i samme sag. (Danish)
- Doku. ""Vi ska döda hela världen tills Gud blir dyrkad" – Doku.nu" (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- "Denmark: Syrian Man Gets Jail for Terror Planning | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
A Syrian asylum seeker in Sweden has received a 12-year prison sentence for planning to explode one or more bombs in Copenhagen and stabbing random people with kitchen knives. The Copenhagen City Court said Monday Moyed Al Zoebi, 32, acted on behalf of the Islamic State group. The court found him guilty last month.
- "The 2016 Copenhagen 'Matchstick' Terror Plot and the Evolving Transnational Character of Terrorism in the West". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "Dutch man gets four years for plotting terror attack". France 24. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- Berlin, Berliner Morgenpost- (24 January 2020). "Anschlag in Berlin geplant: Haftstrafe für Islamisten". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- Helmut Stoltenberg. "Deutscher Bundestag - Einordnung von Straftaten". Deutscher Bundestag (in German). Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- Nyheter, SVT (27 April 2017). "Knivbeväpnad man greps utanför parlamentet i London". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- "Taliban bombmaker who attempted Westminster knife attack jailed for life". The Independent. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- McCahill, Elaine (20 July 2018). "Westminster knife attacker who plotted attack on MPs jailed for 40 years". mirror. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- Simone, Daniel De (8 March 2019). "Teen guilty of hunting knife terror plot". Retrieved 9 March 2019.
Ahead of trial he pleaded guilty to four counts of disseminating violent IS propaganda.
- Khomami, Nadia (4 June 2018). "How London teenager plotted attacks with all-female terror cell". the Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- Gayle, Damien (3 August 2018). "Teenager jailed for life over British Museum bomb plot". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- Khomani, Nadia (15 June 2018). "Members of all-female terror cell jailed over London knife plot". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- Press Association (22 June 2018). "Woman jailed for not alerting UK authorities to friend's terrorist plot". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- "Chi è il richiedente asilo che voleva compiere un attentato a Napoli". 26 April 2018.
- "David Idrissons förändring – från snickare till terroråtalad". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- "Han skulle spränga i Sverige – i IS namn | Brottscentralen | Expressen". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- "German Court Hands Tunisian 10-Year Sentence for Ricin Bomb Plot". Asharq AL-awsat. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- Press, The Associated (26 March 2020). "German Court Convicts Islamist of Ricin Bomb Plot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- "Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf: Rizin-Bombenbau in Köln: Urteil gegen die Ehefrau". www.olg-duesseldorf.nrw.de. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
Gemeinsam mit ihrem Ehemann hatte die Angeklagte ab September 2017 einen jihadistisch motivierten Sprengstoffanschlag in Deutschland vorbereitet, bei dem das tödliche Gift Rizin über eine Splitterbombe verbreitet werden sollte, um "Andersgläubige" zu töten.
- "Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf: Urteil gegen Kölner Rizin-Bombenbauer". www.olg-duesseldorf.nrw.de. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
Gemeinsam mit seiner Ehefrau hatte der Angeklagte ab September 2017 einen jihadistisch motivierten Sprengstoffanschlag in Deutschland vorbereitet, bei dem das tödliche Gift Rizin über eine Splitterbombe verbreitet werden sollte, um "Andersgläubige" zu töten.
- "Kosovo Sentences Four over Terrorism Charges". 7dnews.com. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- KoSSev (4 September 2019). "Pristina: A group sentenced for an attempted terrorist attacks on the Mitrovica church, clubs in Gracanica and KFOR". KoSSev (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- "Four people in Kosovo convicted for planning terrorist attacks, including in Belgium". The Brussels Times. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
Three men and one woman, two of whom are Belgian nationals, have been convicted for having connections to IS.
- "Drei Iraker unter Terrorverdacht festgenommen". www.merkur.de (in German). 30 January 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- "„Dilettantisches Vorgehen": Anschlag geplant: Iraker in Hamburg verurteilt". MOPO.de (in German). 13 November 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
en. Die Richterin am Oberlandesgericht in Hamburg sah es am Mittwoch als erwiesen an, dass die beiden 23-Jährigen bei einem islamistisch motivierten Sprengstoffanschlag möglichst viele „Ungläubige“ töten wollten.
- NDR. "Urteil im Terror-Prozess: Fast fünf Jahre Haft". www.ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- EUROPEAN UNION TERRORISM SITUATION AND TREND REPORT 2014 (PDF). Europol. 2014. p. 22. ISBN 978-92-95078-87-1.
- European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2018 (TE SAT 2018) (PDF). Europol. 2018. p. 58. ISBN 978-92-95200-91-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- "Britain has more Islamist extremists than any other EU country". The Independent. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- Mantu, Sandra (2 January 2018). "'Terrorist' citizens and the human right to nationality". Journal of Contemporary European Studies. 26 (1): 28–41. doi:10.1080/14782804.2017.1397503. ISSN 1478-2804.
- "Belgian anti-terror raid in Verviers 'leaves two dead'". BBC News. 15 January 2015.
- Irish, John; Blachier, Gregory (19 November 2015). "'Spider in web' mastermind of Paris attacks killed in raid". Reuters. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- "Brussels raid: Suspect killed in anti-terror operation". BBC News. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- "Russia detains seven members of Islamic State cell planning attack". Reuters. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.