Lone wolves controlling the terrorist scene in Europe in 2020
Lone wolves were at the forefront of terrorist operations during the past year.
These
operations affected European Union states, mostly Austria where a series of
terrorist attacks took place in that year.
EU report
According
to the Terrorism Trends report, which was released this week, lone wolves were
the sole actors behind terrorist attacks in EU countries last year.
The
report, released by the European Union, indicates that individuals acting alone
and in contact with terrorist groups became active during the past year, which
appeared in ten attacks that left 12 people dead and 47 others injured.
Ideological mix
While
individuals with ideologies deal with a specific terrorist orientation, the
report indicates the difficulty of identifying the main reference for these
extremists.
Some
lone wolves, it says, had a mixture of extremist ideologies and mental health
crises, sometimes making it difficult to distinguish between terrorist attacks
and violence emanating from mental health problems.
Fifteen
jihadist attacks were staged in Europe in 2020, almost double the number of
attacks launched in the previous year, the report says.
It
refers to the crisis of terrorists of European origins who have joined
extremist groups or immigrants of non-European origins.
The
report notes that four out of ten terrorist attacks were carried out by EU
citizens, five of whom entered the EU as asylum- seekers or illegal immigrants.
At
least five terrorist attacks in Europe (in Austria, Germany, and the United
Kingdom) involved either convicted perpetrators or released prisoners, the
report says.
Lone wolves
The
term "lone wolves" moved from al-Qaeda to the more extremist
organization, ISIS, especially after this terrorist organization faced a
crackdown by European security agencies that succeeded in busting many of its
cells.
Individuals
known as "lone wolves" get direct instructions from their terrorist
organizations, but the implementation remains individual, and it is the easiest
type of attacks.
Lone
wolves have a greater ability to hide and escape from security agents, especially
if they do not have a criminal record, the report says.
