Russia Blames European Forest Fires on al-Qaeda

A Russian security official has blamed al-Qaeda for the recent spate of forest fires in Europe.

"Forest fires in European Union countries should be considered one of the new trends in Al Qaeda's 'thousand cuts' strategy," Russian security service chief Alexander Bortnikov has claimed, as cited by RIA Novosti.

Bortnikov has argued that "this approach allows them to inflict significant damage on the economy and morale without any serious preparation, technical equipment, or financial outlay."

Security services had only minimal chances of catching these arsonists, he has added, supporting his claims with content on extremist websites talking about "forest jihad" - including suggestions about the most effective ways of starting a forest fire.

Wildfires have swept through forest land in numerous European countries, including Spain, Italy, Portugal, Montenegro, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, over the past few months

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