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Islamic terrorism in Europe has been carried out by the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(ISIL) or
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
as well as Islamist lone wolves since the late 20th century. Europol, which releases the annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend report (TE-SAT), used the term "Islamist terrorism" in the years 2006–2010, "religiously inspired terrorism" 2011–2014, and has used "jihadist terrorism" since 2015. Europol defines jihadism as "a violent ideology exploiting traditional Islamic concepts". In the early 2000s, most of the Islamic terrorist activity was linked to Al-Qaeda and the plots tended to involve groups carrying out co-ordinated bombings. The deadliest attacks of this period were the
2004 Madrid train bombings The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías Madrid, Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days ...
, which killed 193 civilians (the deadliest Islamist attack in Europe), and the
7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...
, which killed 52. There was a rise in Islamic terrorist incidents in Europe after 2014. The years 2014–16 saw more people killed by Islamic terrorist attacks in Europe than all previous years combined, and the highest rate of attack plots per year.Petter Nesser, Anne Stenersen and Emilie Oftedal
"Jihadi Terrorism in Europe: The IS-Effect"
''
Perspectives on Terrorism ''Perspectives on Terrorism'' (PT) is a bimonthly peer-reviewed, open-access online academic journal, covering political violence, terrorism and counter-terrorism, It is published jointly by the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at the Ca ...
'', volume 10, issue 6. December 2016. pp.3–4
Most of this terrorist activity was inspired by ISIL,Seamus Hughes
"Allies Under Attack: The Terrorist Threat to Europe"
Program on Extremism –
George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...
. 27 June 2017.
and many European states have had some involvement in the military intervention against it. A number of plots involved people who entered or re-entered Europe as asylum seekers during the
European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...
, and some attackers had returned to Europe after fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The
Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting On the afternoon of 24 May 2014, a gunman opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. Three of them, an Israeli couple on holiday and a French woman, died at the scene. The fourth victim, a Belgian employee of t ...
in May 2014 was the first attack in Europe by a returnee from the Syrian war. While most earlier Islamic terrorist attacks in Europe were carried out by groups and involved bombs, most attacks since 2014 have been carried out by individuals using guns, knives and vehicles. A notable exception is the Brussels cell, which carried out two of the deadliest attacks of the period. The deadliest attacks of this period have been the
November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
(130 killed), the July 2016 Nice truck attack (86 killed), the June 2016 Atatürk Airport attack (45 killed), the March 2016 Brussels bombings (32 killed), and the May 2017
Manchester Arena bombing On 22 May 2017, an Islamist extremist suicide bomber detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the Manchester Arena following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. Twenty-three people were killed, including ...
(22 killed). These attacks and threats have led to major security operations and plans such as
Opération Sentinelle Opération Sentinelle is a French military operation with 10,000 soldiers and 4,700 police and gendarmes deployed since the aftermath of the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks, with the objective of protecting the deemed sensitive "points" of th ...
in France,
Operation Vigilant Guardian Operation Vigilant Guardian was a Belgian army operation following the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks and the dismantling of a terrorist cell in Verviers having foiled attacks imminent, to deal with the terrorist threat and protect the "points ...
and the
Brussels lockdown From 21 to 25 November 2015, the government of Belgium imposed a security lockdown on Brussels, including the closure of shops, schools, public transportation, due to information about potential terrorist attacks in the wake of the series of co ...
in Belgium, and
Operation Temperer Operation Temperer is a British government plan to deploy troops to support and free up police officers in key locations following a major terrorist attack or major public disorder. It was put into effect for the first time on 22 May 2017 followin ...
in the United Kingdom.


Definition

The 2020 TE-SAT by Europol describes jihadism as "a violent ideology exploiting traditional Islamic concepts". Jihadists do this by exploiting the concept of ''
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
'', which means 'striving' or 'exertion' but can also refer to religiously sanctioned warfare and aim to create an Islamic state governed exclusively by their interpretation of
Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
. The report describes jihadism as a violent subcurrent of
Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islah, reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three g ...
, while noting that other subcurrents of Salafism are quietist. The two major representatives of jihadism are
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
and
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
.


Overview

The first incidents of Islamic terrorism occurred in France in 1995 when a network with ties to Algeria carried out a string of bombings in Paris in retaliation for French involvement in the
Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War ( ar, rtl=yes, الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, al-Ḥarb al-ʾAhlīyah al-Jazāʾirīyah) was a civil war in Algeria fought between the Algerian government and various Is ...
. In the early 2000s, most of the Islamic terrorist activity was linked to Al-Qaeda and the plots tended to involve groups carrying out co-ordinated bombings. The deadliest attacks of this period were the
2004 Madrid train bombings The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías Madrid, Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days ...
, which killed 193 civilians (the deadliest Islamist attack in Europe), and the
7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...
, which killed 52. Although militants in Syria had started to organize attacks in Europe by sending terrorist operatives to carry out attacks as early as 2012, security services in the European countries they sought to attack did not see the arrested individuals as part of a network with a cohesive strategy. Instead the general consensus saw them as radicalized individuals. Many of these operatives were arrested, while others carried out unsophisticated attacks which caused little damage but still served to overload security services. Since 2014, more than 20 fatal attacks have been carried out in Europe. France saw eight attacks between January 2015 and July 2016; this included the
January 2015 Île-de-France attacks From 7 to 9 January 2015, terrorist attacks occurred across the Île-de-France region, particularly in Paris. Three attackers killed a total of 17 in four shooting attacks, and police then killed the three assailants. The attacks also wounded 22 ...
, the November 2015 Paris attacks, and the July 2016 Nice truck attack. The United Kingdom saw three major attacks carried out in a span of four months in early 2017 ( Westminster attack,
Manchester Arena bombing On 22 May 2017, an Islamist extremist suicide bomber detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the Manchester Arena following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. Twenty-three people were killed, including ...
, and London Bridge attack). Other targets in Europe have included
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. The transcontinental city of
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
also saw both bombings and shootings, including in January 2016, June 2016 and January 2017. In 2015, the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
, which in 2014 had claimed that all Muslims were under a religious obligation to join it, declared that the only excuse for Muslims to not join the group in territories under its control was to perpetrate terrorist attacks in their current place of residence. According to Europol's annual report released in 2017, the Islamic State exploited the flow of refugees and migrants to commit acts of terrorism, which was a feature of the 2015 Paris attacks. In 2016 attack planning against Western countries took place in Syria and Iraq. Groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL had the intent and capabilities to mount mass casualty attacks with volunteers. The
Counter Extremism Project The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a nonprofit organization, non-profit non-governmental organization that combats Extremism, extremist groups "by pressuring financial support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online ...
states police investigations have found links between
internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
radicalization and terrorist attacks. In 2019, Julian King, the European Commissioner for the Security Union, stated that terrorist content on the internet "had a role to play in every single attack on European soil in the last few years". However, Swedish news agency
Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå TT News Agency (Swedish: TT Nyhetsbyrån or simply TT; formerly ''Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå'' until 2013) is a Swedish news agency, the largest in Scandinavia, owned jointly by the country's newspapers and the media groups behind them. TT's servi ...
reviewed attacks in Western Europe between 2014 and 2017 and stated that most attackers radicalize as a result of personal contact rather than online. In 2017, the EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator
Gilles de Kerchove Gilles de Kerchove d'Ousselghem (born 3 October 1956 in Uccle (Ukkel), Belgium) is a Belgian senior European Union official. He was director in the general directorate of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) in the General Secretariat of the Council o ...
stated in an interview that there were more than 50,000 radicals and jihadists in Europe. In 2016, French authorities stated that 15,000 of the 20,000 individuals on the list of security threats belong to Islamist movements. After the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, British authorities and
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Go ...
estimated they had 500 ongoing investigations into 3,000 jihadist extremists as potential terrorist attackers, with a further 20,000 having been "subjects of interest" in the past, including the Manchester and Westminster attackers. According to
Lorenzo G. Vidino Lorenzo G. Vidino is an Italian-American writer on Islamism in Europe and North America. He was born in Milan, Italy. He holds a law degree from the University of Milan and a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Career A visiti ...
, jihadi terrorists in Europe mobilized by ISIL have tended to be second-generation immigrant Muslims. Consequently, countries such as Italy and Spain with a smaller demographic in this category have experienced fewer attacks than countries in Central and Northern Europe such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium. British think tank ICSR argues for a connection between terrorism and crime: up to 40% of terrorist plots in Europe are part-financed through
petty crime A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence). Canada In Canada, summary offenc ...
such as drug-dealing, theft, robberies, loan fraud and burglaries, and most jihadists have been imprisoned for petty or violent crime prior to radicalisation (some of whom radicalise while in prison). Jihadists use ordinary crime as a way to finance their activity and have also argued this to be the "ideologically correct" way to wage 'jihad 'in 'lands of war'. According to German anthropologist
Susanne Schröter Susanne Schröter (born 1957) is a contemporary Social Anthropologist focussing primarily on Islam, Gender and Conflict Studies. Biography Susanne Schröter is head of a research group on "Contemporary discourses on state and society in the Isla ...
, attacks in European countries in 2017 showed that the military defeat of the Islamic State did not mean the end of Islamist violence. Schröter also compared the events in Europe to a jihadist strategy formulated in 2005 by
Abu Musab al-Suri Abu Musab al-Suri ( ar, أبو مصعب السوري), born Mustafa bin Abd al-Qadir Setmariam Nasar ( ar, مصطفى بن عبد القادر ست مريم نصار), is a suspected Al-Qaeda member and writer best known for his 1,600-page book ...
, where an intensification of terror would destabilise societies and encourage Muslim youth to revolt. The expected civil war never materialised in Europe, but did occur in other regions such as Libya, Syria, Iraq and the Philippines (
Battle of Marawi The siege of Marawi ( fil, Pagkubkob sa Marawi), also known as the Marawi crisis (), and the Battle of Marawi (), was a five-month-long armed conflict in Marawi, Philippines, that started on May 23, 2017, between Philippine government security ...
).


List of attacks


1994–1995


2000–2013


2014


2015

According to Europol, terrorist attacks attributed to jihadists in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
increased from four in 2014 to seventeen in 2015, while the number of people killed increased from four to 150. Non-EU areas of Europe are not included in the Europol figures. In 2015, the terrorist threat level was zero in Poland, on its scale which has four levels plus the "zero level". About 20-40 Polish nationals had travelled to the conflict zone in Syria-Iraq.


2016

In 2016, a total of 135 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures, while 62 others were killed in Turkey and one in Russia. Thirteen attacks were attempted. The number of arrests increased on the previous year, to 718. In France, the number of arrests increased from 377 in 2015 to 429 in 2016. One in four (26%) of those arrested in 2016 were women, an increase from 18% the previous year. The threat in 2016 consisted of remotely directed individuals operating alone or in small groups. In addition to these, there were those that were inspired by propaganda but not instructed or directed.


2017

In 2017, a total of 62 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. The number of attempted jihadist attacks reached 33 in 2017, double that of the previous year. Most of the deaths were in the UK (35), Spain (16), Sweden (5) and France (3). In addition to those killed, a total of 819 people were injured in 14 attacks. The pattern of jihadist attacks in 2017 led Europol to conclude that terrorists preferred to attack ordinary people rather than causing property damage or loss of capital. According to Europol's annual report on terrorism in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, the jihadist attacks in 2017 had three patterns: indiscriminate killings (London attacks in
March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...
and
June June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...
and
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
attacks), attacks on Western lifestyle (the Manchester bombing in May 2017, 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting), and attacks on symbols of authority (Paris attacks in February, June and August). The agency's report also noted that jihadist attacks had caused more deaths and casualties than any other type of terrorist attack, that such attacks had become more frequent, and that there had been a decrease in the sophistication and preparation of the attacks. In 2017, a total of 705 individuals were arrested in 18 EU Member states, 373 of those in France. Most arrests were on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organisation (354), suspicion of planning (120), or of preparing (112) a terrorist attack.


2018

In 2018, a total of 13 people were killed and 46 were injured in seven completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. The number of attempted jihadist attacks was 24, down from 33 the previous year. All attacks were carried out by perpetrators acting alone. Europol noted in its 2019 report that generally, individuals who act alone seldom do so in total isolation as attackers often maintain relations in small or loosely defined networks and may receive moral or material support from individuals sharing their ideas. A number of the stopped attacks involved groups of perpetrators. The year saw equal numbers of EU citizens and non-EU citizens carrying out attacks. All attackers were male and their average age was 26.


2019

In 2019, a total of ten people were killed in three completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. An additional four attacks failed and 14 were foiled. All completed and failed attacks except for one were carried out by perpetrators acting alone, whereas most of the foiled plots involved more than one person.


2020

In 2020, a total of twelve people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, with an additional three people killed in three additional completed jihadist attacks in the United Kingdom, according to Europol figures. All attackers were men between the ages of 18 and 33, and all were lone actors. Of the attackers, five had come to the EU as asylum seekers or illegal immigrants. At least five of the attacks involved assailants who were either convicts or had been released from prison sentences. In addition to the completed attacks there were two attempted attacks that were thwarted and Switzerland recorded two attacks involving probable jihadist motivation.


2021

In 2021, two people were killed in three completed jihadist attacks in the European Union, according to Europol figures. An additional eight attacks were foiled.


Terrorist plots

This is a list of plots which have been classified as terrorism by a law enforcement agency and/or for which at least one person has been convicted of planning one or more terrorist crimes with Islamist motives.


Responses to terrorism

According to Europol, the number of people arrested on suspicion of jihadist-related terrorist offences in the European Union increased from 395 in 2014 to 687 in 2015. In 2015, most arrests were made in France (377), followed by Spain (75) and Belgium (60); statistics for the United Kingdom were not available. During 2015, jihadist terrorism related verdicts were 198 out of a total of 527 terrorism related verdicts. The average sentence for jihadist terrorism increased from 4 years in 2014 to 6 years. In Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden, all terrorism verdicts concerned jihadist terrorism. In 2016, a total of 718 people were arrested on suspicion of jihadist-related terrorist offences in the European Union. During 2016, 358 verdicts on jihadi terrorism were delivered by courts in the EU, the vast majority of all terrorism verdicts. Belgium had the highest number of such verdicts at 138. All terrorism verdicts in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal and Sweden related to jihadist terrorism. Of those convicted for jihadist terrorist offences, 22 were women, such offences were punished with an average sentence of 5 years in prison. After the
vehicle-ramming attack A vehicle-ramming attack is an assault in which a perpetrator deliberately rams a vehicle into a building, crowd of people, or another vehicle. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence analysts, this attack represents a relatively new militan ...
, European countries began equipping pedestrian areas with barriers. In 2017, the total number of arrests was 705. During 2017, 352 verdicts on jihadi terrorism were delivered by courts in the EU, this was the vast majority of all terrorist convictions (569). The average sentence remained at 5 years in prison. The country with the highest number of jihadist convictions was France with 114. In 2017, according to
Gilles de Kerchove Gilles de Kerchove d'Ousselghem (born 3 October 1956 in Uccle (Ukkel), Belgium) is a Belgian senior European Union official. He was director in the general directorate of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) in the General Secretariat of the Council o ...
, the European Union's Counter-terrorism Coordinator, the United Kingdom had the highest number of known Islamist radicals of any European country at around 20 to 25 thousand. de Kerchove said that three thousand of those were considered a direct threat by
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Go ...
and 500 were under constant surveillance. A number of European countries—Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—made legal changes which enable deprivation of citizenship of individuals engaged in terrorism if they have dual citizenship.


See also

*
Terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
*
Islam and violence The use of politically and religiously-motivated violence dates back to the early history of Islam, its origins are found in the behavior, sayings, and rulings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and the first caliphs in the 7t ...
*
List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIL The following is a list of major terrorist attacks and arrests that have been connected to or have been claimed in reliable sources to be inspired by the Islamic State (IS), also known by other names. Between June 2014, when the group self-pr ...
*
Stabbing as a terrorist tactic Stabbing attacks, which have been used as a terrorist tactic for thousands of years, became an increasingly common form of terrorist attack on random civilians in the 21st century, in particular during the 2010s and 2020s. Like the vehicle-ramming ...
*
Vehicle-ramming attack A vehicle-ramming attack is an assault in which a perpetrator deliberately rams a vehicle into a building, crowd of people, or another vehicle. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence analysts, this attack represents a relatively new militan ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamic terrorism in Europe 2010s in Europe Islamic terrorist incidents in the 2010s Spillover of the Syrian civil war Terrorism in 2014 Terrorism in 2015 Terrorism in 2016 Terrorism in 2017 Terrorism in 2018 Terrorism in 2019 Terrorism in 2020