The Shadow of Terrorism on the World

 

The article continues by saying that the FBI is likely evaluating his electronic equipment in order to obtain clues; clues about the platforms he used and the people he was in contact with.

According to Foreign Policy, last year, almost all foreign terrorist operations, regardless of whether they were successful, were not directed by a specific individual or agent, but were inspired by this group.

According to the publication, this statement is a stunning feat; ISIS has effectively used its brand around the world to inspire violence and killing far from the areas it controls, without even providing basic support to the attackers.

This highlights the role of technologies such as social media and communication platforms in providing access to radical content, as well as the knowledge and technical know-how needed to organize attacks. However, this statement suggests that many of these plans are defined around primitive yet brutal tactics.

The question is, how can these attacks be thwarted, and what are the ways to thwart ISIS’s appeal around the world?

The terrorists’ embrace of advanced technology – from improvised explosive devices to drones – to simple acts such as stabbings or vehicle-mounted displays all require an understanding of why certain technologies are more attractive to terrorists.

Last November, a radical citizen attempted to target a power substation with an explosives-laden drone. This is a completely different lever from the one used by the New Orleans attacker. Running over pedestrians with vehicles is a lever that requires minimal planning and can sometimes be executed without a plan, which is why this method has become one of the most successful tactics in ISIS-inspired terrorism due to a combination of practical and ideological factors.

For this reason, terrorists often resorted to this tactic during the terrorist attacks in Barcelona, ​​Berlin, London, New York City, Nice and Stockholm. A vehicle attack has a high probability of success because it is extremely difficult to detect such an operation at the planning stage and will be equally difficult.

In terms of accessibility, cars are easily available and, through rental, sharing platforms and vehicle sharing, limited resources are required to carry out such an attack. Furthermore, the barriers are low and only a driver’s license is required. The symbolic aspect of vehicle attacks is also important. An everyday object can cause mass killing at any moment, with almost no preparation required.

These attacks are not unique to radical groups. A far-right member used a vehicle to drive into a crowd of protesters during the group’s 2017 unity march in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one person.

Just a few weeks ago, a Saudi national living in Germany, motivated by bizarre extremist ideas, used a car to attack a Christmas market in southwest Berlin. ISIS has long inspired its supporters to carry out car attacks.

Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, ISIS’s number two, once encouraged supporters to attack Westerners by any means necessary. “Break his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him off a cliff, or strangle him, or poison him,” he urged more than a decade ago. These tactics are still successful and are difficult to identify in the planning stages.

Counterterrorism can be a volatile profession, with plots disrupted or terrorist cells gathering, the news cycle shifting, and few people asking themselves what would have happened if the attack had been successful.

The article concludes by saying that counterterrorism in the modern era must be viewed through a broad, multifaceted lens, as threats posed by technological advances can emerge in a series of ways. While the proliferation of advanced technologies—such as drones, encrypted communications, and bombs—requires a sophisticated and coordinated response, we should not ignore the persistent threat posed by more primitive methods, such as car and knife attacks. Consequently, a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy means dismantling the technological infrastructure that enables terrorist groups to communicate with each other and operate across borders, while strengthening the physical and social barriers that reduce the risk of simpler, more brutal tactics.