A Europol report has warned that ISIS has set up several training camps across the European continent. At these secret camps, the extremist organization is plotting to carry out attacks inside the United Kingdom.
The international police agency revealed in the report that ISIS has successfully established small bases in the Balkans and the European Union where it is planning to carry out several Paris-like attacks across the continent. The recruiters for ISIS are targeting refugees from Syria for this purpose.
It is believed that the group may be preparing to carry out strikes meant to create mass casualties. This has become more imminent after ISIS established an external actions command in order to carry out operations abroad.
130 people lost their lives in the Paris attacks last November when members of the terrorist group went on a rampage within the French Capital. They targeted cafes, a football stadium and a concert hall in order to maximize casualties.
A report on ISIS – also known by its acronym Daesh – stated that the current change in tactics could mean more attacks like the ones we have seen in Paris. Such attacks are being planned on the continent.
The law enforcement agency of the European Union also stated that the recruiters for the organization were targeting the wide pool of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa who had made it to Europe.
The Europol report was made available during the launching of the European Counter Terrorism Centre. The report explicitly stated that the Muslim diaspora from the Middle East is extremely vulnerable to radicalization by extremists. In fact, there are reports that large refugee centers are being targeted by recruiters.
The title of the Europol report is ‘Changes in modus operandi of Islamic State terrorist attacks’, and it says that study conducted into the working of ISIS are indicating that there may have been a strategy shift on the part of the organization as it seeks to go global.
It was further revealed within the report that the new attacks will be pointed towards soft targets in the initial stages. ISIS, at the present moment, does not want to attack infrastructure or huge public facilities. PR senesce of small training centers within Europe and Syria are also reported.
In another shocking revelation, the report says that most of the foreign recruits of ISIS had mental problems before they went and joined the group. Terrorists are able to avoid detection by authorities because they are using encryption for communicating with each other.
Weapons are also acquired through ingenious methods. British security agencies have been highlighting the risk of potential terror attacks like the ones seen in Mumbai in 2008.
The establishment of the European Counter Terrorism Centre is step towards fighting terrorism on European soil. The Centre will be a hub for centralizing information in the fight against terrorism. It will also coordinate action between the security services of different countries.
