Terror again and again!

Expert sees huge security gap in Europe

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT, Krone KREATIV)

Acts of terrorism in Europe have increased significantly since the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians last year. This series has revealed a glaring security gap: Europe's intelligence services are still sharing too little information - as the Munich case shows.

The volume of jihadist activities has recently developed dramatically. As of today, German terrorism researcher Peter Neumann estimates 22 attempted and seven executed attacks in Western Europe in the past ten months. Two thirds of the suspected terrorists arrested since October 2023 are young people.

Experts associate the predicted new wave of Islamist terrorism with teenagers - and therefore very young attackers who are not radicalized in mosques, for example, but on social networks. The Chinese platform TikTok plays a central role here.

It doesn't matter how - the main thing is terror
In the events in Ternitz/Vienna, Solingen and Munich, it is also noticeable that the attackers used relatively simple equipment, obviously easy-to-obtain weapons and did not put much effort into planning and logistics.

IS is celebrating a gloomy comeback - especially in the minds of young people.

(Bild: APA/AFP/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

The forgiven motto of Islamist terror preachers is: if you have the opportunity to kill "infidels", then do it. The equipment plays a subordinate role. The focus is on spreading fear and terror in order to destabilize Western societies. 

Major security gap in Europe
Neumann repeatedly warns of a gaping security hole at European level. For the leading terrorism expert, seamless cooperation between intelligence services on an international level is the order of the day - and is currently not a given. The case of the Munich shooter in particular illustrates the problem.

Neumann describes the problem in the video:

As a reminder, on Thursday an 18-year-old Austrian shot at the Israeli Consulate General in Munich before being killed by police. Authorities assume it was an act of terrorism. Investigators are looking into indications of Islamist and anti-Semitic motives. The young man with Bosnian roots was known to the authorities in Austria, but not in Germany. No information was exchanged here, although the potential terrorist lived only an hour's drive from Munich.

A noticeable increase in terrorist attacks
A few hours after the attempted attack in Munich, a suspected Islamist stormed a police station in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate. The man, armed with a machete and a knife, was locked in a security gate and overpowered by special forces.

In a suspected Islamist terrorist attack in Solingen on August 23, a man killed three people with a knife at a town festival and injured eight others. The suspected perpetrator is in custody. At the end of May, an Afghan stabbed several people in Mannheim, Germany, and a young police officer succumbed to his injuries.

Early warning system must improve
"Even with these lone offenders, who often radicalize themselves, it is not the case that they become terrorists overnight," Neumann explained to ARD's Tagesthemen. They are often preceded by weeks or months of radicalization, during which it is possible to intercept "signals".

The foiled attack in Munich also sparked a new border control debate.

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT, Krone KREATIV)

"We have to get better at intercepting these signals, sensitizing the environment and focusing on the risk groups where the terrorists actually come from." Although attacks cannot be completely prevented, the rate of prevented attacks can be increased.

Rationality instead of hysteria
However, hysteria remains the wrong means of choice. Neumann advises dealing with the threat of attacks as rationally as possible: "We must not allow ourselves to be terrorized, then in principle the terrorists will win." After all, the purpose of terrorism is to terrorize societies and people. However, the risk of dying in a terrorist attack is still very low.

"This means that there are many threats in everyday life that are far more dangerous," said Neumann, who teaches at King's College London. "Of course, this horror and terror is something very bad, but you have to try to deal with it rationally."