Dear Reader
Of late there has been an upsurge in the jihadist attacks – Nice, Istanbul, Medina, Brussels and Dhaka! Does this mean that the global war on terror is failing?
Terrorists are increasingly employing innovative methods of attack using unconventional weapons – a truck, an axe and a knife in their most recent strikes. On the evening of July 14, 2016, 85 people were killed and 307 injured when a cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France. On 26 July 2016, two Islamist terrorists attacked participants in a Mass at a Catholic church in Normandy, France with knives killing a priest. An axe was used to assault people in Germany. The use of unconventional weapons shows how a determined jihadist does not need access to technology or even a gun to unleash terror.
Earlier we used to see trained attackers and systematically brain-washed suicide bombers, now we have amateur assaulters attacking common people in the hinterlands that have suddenly turned anyone, anywhere into a target. We have seen self-radicalised individuals with no past history of crime or violence, turn killers. They did not go to madrassas or terror camps to get trained, yet their motivation levels are so high that they will kill and are ready to lay down their lives. A very worrisome phenomenon indeed!
So what do intelligence agencies and security forces look out for now? The traditional signs of a terrorist are either just not there or are very fuzzy, almost impossible to detect, confusing them. A former jihadi Harry Sarfo, has revealed that the ISIS is turning back recruits who are coming to join them from European countries telling them that they should go back to their own countries and await their command as they want many jihadis living in Europe to be part of a planned wave of attacks. By launching multiple simultaneous attacks, the ISIS wants to create a fear psychosis amongst the population of the NATO allies in Europe. Intelligence group IntelCenter, which studies terrorist activities, has revealed that terror assaults linked to, or inspired by, the death cult are happening every three to four days since June 8 of this year.
Some strategists are of the belief that to bring the war on terror back on track, it has become necessary to initiate a sustained information campaign to discredit the ideology of radical Islam that is fostering “jihad factories” and promoting self-radicalisation. They could just be right, as ISIS is doing the same thing very effectively in the reverse direction. They are reaching out to masses with very powerful jihadist propaganda via social and other mediums and are able to motivate ordinary people who want their moment of glory to turn into jihadists. The worrying trend is that all this is being done remotely, without any physical contact with the recruits. No recruiters, no trainers, no handlers and no logistical support either, as perhaps trucks, knives and axes prove this point.
The resultant effect is that citizens of these countries live under constant fear and uncertainty, while their security forces go on an extended high alert, leading to dangerous levels stretched security resources and economic bleed and that too in recessionary times. It is amply clear, more brains than brawn is being used to inflict wounds on their enemies where it really hurts.
A massive and fast collaborative effort with aligned ideology and strategy would be needed by impacted nations to overcome this new style of terrorism. Blaming the ISIS for the recent strikes, just as most attacks after 9/11 were pinned on al-Qaeda, creates a simplistic narrative that obscures the factors behind the surging Islamist terror.
Till we meet next, stay safe!
G B Singh
Email: editor@securitytoday.in
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