The risk of a new attack in Europe is real

(B2) The phenomenon of European fighters returning from Syria raises concerns at the highest level. Before the Ministers of the Interior of the 28, Thursday in Luxembourg, the European coordinator of the fight against terrorism, Gilles de Kerchove, warned. The execution in cold blood of several people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, on the eve of the European elections, shows a phenomenon unprecedented ". She " is similar to the one that took place two years ago in Toulouse with the Merah terrorist attack. It targets Jewish people. “The risk that this type of attack is renewed exists and must be taken seriously, underlines the European coordinator. " More than 2000 Europeans went to fight in Syria. " Not everyone who returns will make attacks. But the percentage of people concerned is greater than during previous jihads (Editor’s note: holy wars) in Pakistan, Kenya, Somalia, the Sahel… ". Certainly these individuals are not capable of organizing large-scale attacks like 11/XNUMX, (but) they know how to use Kalashnikovs ". And that is enough to sow terror. There is another phenomenon, not to be neglected, for Gilles de Kerchove: the power of attraction of veterans. He stays " majeur towards those who have not left. " These individuals who return from Syria with the status of veterans have a certain aura. They can be obeyed. The European states are therefore warned. The “28” must “ reinforce » their cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Nicolas Gros Verheyde
Article published in Ouest-France