Number of Terror Attacks in EU Rises in 2015: Europol

EU | July 21, 2016, Thursday // 08:32|  views

Photo source: europol.europa.eu

A total of 151 people died and over 360 were injured as a result of terrorist attacks in the EU last year, Europol has announced.

There were 211 failed, foiled and completed terrorist attacks in six EU Member States:Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the European police organization said in the EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2016 released on Wednesday.

This compared with 201 failed, foiled and completed terrorist attacks in the EU in 2014 and 152 in 2013.

1 077 individuals were arrested in the EU for terrorism-related offences, of which 424 in France only. This compared with 774 individuals in 2014 and 535 in 2013.

94% of the individuals trialled for jihadist terrorism were found guilty and prosecuted, as reported to Eurojust.

Lone actor attacks remained a favoured tactic by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, with both groups having repeatedly called on Muslims living in Western countries to carry out such attacks in their countries of residence, Europol said.

Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol, commented in a statement: “In 2015 the European Union experienced a massive number of casualties caused by terrorist attacks. In this context, Europol made use of its unique capabilities to focus on supporting operational investigations to prevent terrorist attacks and identify and disrupt terrorists. The increased cooperation resulted in a much richer strategic intelligence picture, strengthening […] Europol’s ability to advise political leaders and legislators and inform national authorities in the setting of threat levels.”

The report highlightstwo worrying developments: the overall threat is reinforced by the substantial numbers of returned foreign terrorist fighters that many Member States now have on their soil, and the significant rise in nationalist (xenophobic), racist and anti-Semitic sentiments across the EU, each resulting in acts of right-wing extremism.

The report also brings to light the fact that a significant percentage of all foreign terrorist travellers in Syria/Iraq are now female.

 

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Tags: EU, Europol, terror attacks, Islamic state, al-Qaeda

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