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Europol warns Islamic State planning to focus more on Europe

Islamic State has developed the ability to strike globally and plans to focus more on Europe afte...
Newstalk
Newstalk

15.54 25 Jan 2016


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Europol warns Islamic State pl...

Europol warns Islamic State planning to focus more on Europe

Newstalk
Newstalk

15.54 25 Jan 2016


Share this article


Islamic State has developed the ability to strike globally and plans to focus more on Europe after the Paris massacre, the boss of Europol has said.

Rob Wainwright, chief of the EU police agency, told a news conference that "the so-called Islamic State had developed a new combat style capability to carry out a campaign of large-scale terrorist attacks on a global stage - with a particular focus in Europe."

He was unveiling the findings of a new Europol report on changes in how the jihadist group operates, coinciding with the launch of the agency's new counterterrorism summit in The Hague.

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IS claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks on 13 November in which 130 people were killed.

On Sunday, it released a video appearing to show nine of the jihadists, in which they threaten "coalition countries" including Britain.

The Europol report said: "IS is preparing more terrorist attacks, including more 'Mumbai-style' attacks, to be executed in member states of the EU, and in France in particular.

"The attacks will be primarily directed at soft targets, because of the impact it generates. Both the November Paris attacks and the October 2015 bombing of a Russian airliner suggest a shift in IS strategy towards going global."

It also said there was no "concrete evidence" that jihadists were using the influx of refugees into Europe in order to sneak themselves in and carry out attacks.

However, it warned refugees might be "vulnerable to radicalisation".

"Indeed there are reports that refugee centres are being specifically targeted by Islamic extremist recruiters," it said.

The report concluded that the group has training camps in the EU and the Balkans, as well as in Syria.
 


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