THE HAGUE: Europe is at major risk of so-called “lone-wolf” terror attacks, its policing agency said Wednesday, with the latest incidents showing “how difficult it is to detect and disrupt suspects.”
Recent incidents including Monday’s attack on a German train and last week’s carnage in Nice which left 84 people dead “remain a favored tactic by Daesh and Al-Qaeda,” Europol said in a statement.
“Both groups have repeatedly called on Muslims living in western countries to perpetrate lone actor attacks in their countries of residence,” it said.
In the latest incident, the Daesh group Tuesday released a video purportedly featuring a 17-year-old migrant who went on an axe rampage on a train at Wuerzburg in southern Germany, injuring five people, two critically.
“Although Daesh has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, none... seem to have been planned, logistically supported or executed directly by Daesh,” Europol said,
Despite the attackers’ pledges of allegiance to Daesh, “their actual involvement... cannot be established,” Europol said.
The Hague-based policing organization also released its 2015 “EU Terrorism and Trend Report” saying 151 people died and more than 350 others were injured in terror attacks last year in the 28-member bloc.
The 55-page report only looked at 2015 and did not take into account the Nice attack or the attacks on the Brussels airport and metro stations in March in which 32 people died.
“In 2015 the EU experienced a massive number of casualties caused by terrorist attacks,” Europol chief Rob Wainwright said.
“The carefully planned attacks demonstrate the elevated threat to the EU from a fanatical minority... based in the Middle East, combined with a network of people born and raised in the EU,” he said.
These people are “often radicalized within a short space of time, (and) proven willing to act as facilitators and active accomplices in terrorism,” Wainwright said.
A significant number of all foreign terrorist travelers in Syria and Iraq are now female, the report said, and women have also “proven to be very successful in facilitating and recruiting while still in the EU.”
These women are trained in the use of weapons though are probably not currently taking part in active combat, Europol added.
“Their roles may change in the future, which may have an effect on the nature and impact” of Daesh group operations in Europe, the policing agency warned.
Last year, 687 suspects were arrested, of whom 198 were convicted of terror activities.
Europol warned: “It is a highly challenging task for the security services and law enforcement to prevent every terrorist attack by keeping track of the ever-increasing numbers of people suspected of being, in one way, or another sympathetic to Daesh ideology.”
‘Lone wolf’ attacks rising, hard to track, says Europol
‘Lone wolf’ attacks rising, hard to track, says Europol
Left homeless by blaze, Muslims in southernmost Philippines observe Ramadan as month of trial
- Thousands lost their homes when parts of Bongao in Tawi-Tawi were burnt to ashes
- Many trying to fully observe the fasting month say they are grateful to be alive
Manila: As Annalexis Abdulla Dabbang was looking forward to observing the month of Ramadan with her family, just days before it began they lost everything when an enormous fire tore through whole neighborhoods of their city in the southernmost province of the Philippines.
Bongao is the capital of Tawi-Tawi, an island province, forming part of the country’s Muslim minority heartland in the Bangsamoro region. The city experienced its worst fire in years in early February, when flames swept through the coastal community, leaving more than 5,000 people homeless.
“We were swimming for our lives. We had to swim to escape from the fire ... We swam in darkness, and (even) the sea was already hot because of the fire,” Dabbang, a 27-year-old teacher, told Arab News.
“Everything we owned was gone in just a few hours — our home, our memories, the things we worked hard for, everything turned to ashes.”
Trying to save their 2-year-old daughter and themselves, she and her husband left everything behind — as did hundreds of other families that together with them have since taken shelter at the Mindanao State University gymnasium — one of the evacuation centers.
Unable to secure a tent, Dabbang’s family has been sleeping on the bleachers, sharing a single mat as their bed. When Ramadan arrived a few days after they moved to the makeshift shelter, they welcomed it in a different, more solemn way. There is no family privacy for suhoor, no room or means to welcome guests for iftar.
“Ramadan feels different now. It’s painful but at the same time more real. When we lost our home, we began to understand what sacrifice really means. When you sleep in an evacuation center, you understand hunger, discomfort in a deeper way,” Dabbang said.
“We don’t prepare special dishes. We prepare our hearts.”
While she and thousands of others have lost everything they have ever owned, she has not lost her faith.
“Our dreams may have turned to ashes, but our prayers are still alive,” she said.
“This Ramadan my prayers are more emotional than ever. I pray for strength, not just for myself, but for my family and for every neighbor who also lost their family home. I pray for healing from the trauma of fire. I pray that Allah will replace what we lost with something better. I pray for the chance to rebuild not just our house, but our sense of security.”
Juraij Dayan Hussin, a volunteer helping the Bongao fire victims, observed that many of them were traumatized and the need to cleanse the heart and mind during Ramadan was what kept many of them going, because they are “thankful that even though they lost their property, they are still alive.”
But the religious observance related to the fasting month is not easy in a cramped shelter.
“It’s hard for Muslims to perform their prayers when they do not have their proper attire because they usually have specific clothes for prayer,” he said. “Sanitation in the area is also an issue ... when you fast and when you pray, cleanliness is essential.”
For Abdulkail Jani, who is staying at a basketball court with his brother and more than 70 other families, this Ramadan will be spent apart from their parents, whom they managed to move to relatives.
“The month of Ramadan this year is a month of trial ... there will be a huge change from how we observed Ramadan in the past, but we will adjust to it and try to comfort ourselves and our family. The most important thing is that we can perform the fasting,” he told Arab News.
“Despite our situation now, despite everything, as long as we’re alive, we will observe Ramadan. We’ll try to observe it well, without missing anything.”
