ISIL is planning more terror attacks in Europe targeted at “soft” targets with the goal of killing large numbers of civilians, Europol warned on Monday.
“There is every reason to expect that IS, IS inspired terrorists or another religiously inspired terrorist group will undertake a terrorist attack somewhere in Europe again, but particularly in France, intended to cause mass casualties amongst the civilian population,” the EU’s law enforcement agency said in a report.
The agency went on to specify that the threat of attack from terrorists operating under the banner of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is in addition to so-called “lone actor” attacks, in which an individual acts without coordinating with ISIL.
Although there is no evidence that the terror group plans to use the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers from Syria to attack Europe, there is “a real and imminent danger” that the Syrian diaspora could become radicalized and targeted by ISIL, Europol warned.
There is also evidence that ISIL has set up a special command center aimed at undertaking operations in Europe and specifically in France.
“In selecting their targets IS has shown its capability to strike at will, at any time, and at almost any chosen target,” the agency said. “In its target selection it shows a preference for soft targets with a potential to cause mass casualties.”
Asked about the Europol report, which coincided with the official launch of the agency’s European Counter-Terrorism Center which became operational on January 1, one senior European counter-terrorism official said agencies across the region were already “working with this idea in the back of our minds.”
“There is a widespread feeling among us insiders that a further attack might occur in Europe,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.