As of: March 25, 2024, 9:12 p.m
By: Philipp Bräuner
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Press
Split
The attack on visitors to a concert near Moscow also raises many questions for Western Europe.
A terror expert tries to clarify some of them.
Moscow - While Vladimir Putin is still pondering Ukraine's involvement in the attack on a concert hall near Moscow, people in Europe are taking seriously the letters of responsibility from an offshoot of the "Islamic State" terrorist network.
Experts see a renewed rise in Islamist terrorist organizations.
Not least because of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
According to a terror expert, the suspected Moscow attackers are part of the most dangerous IS offshoot
In view of the attack on the Crocus City Hall last Friday, March 22nd, many are asking the following questions: What kind of group is this that operates under the name “Islamic State Khorasan Province” (ISPK)?
What danger does this pose for Germany?
And why didn't the assassins blow themselves up during the attack on the concert hall?
A man suspected of being involved in the attack on a concert hall near Moscow is brought to the courtroom in the Russian capital.
Experts see a growing threat from Islamist terror throughout Europe.
© Alexander Zemlianichenko/dpa
Peter Neumann, terrorism expert and professor of security studies at King's College in London, provides answers.
In his assessment, the ISPK, which has its roots in Afghanistan, is a “very active, very ambitious and very aggressive” offshoot of the “Islamic State,” Neumann told
BR
.
While other groups, for example in Iraq and Syria, are fighting within themselves, the ISPK is the only one capable of launching attacks abroad.
The ISPK is the same group that is said to have planned an attack on Cologne Cathedral in December 2023.
In addition, the two suspected terrorists arrested in Gera last week are said to belong to the ISPK.
They had apparently planned an attack on the Swedish parliament.
Terror expert sees Islamist terrorism on the rise again
In general, Neumann sees Islamist terror on the rise again.
Since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip, there has been renewed Islamist mobilization in Western Europe.
There have been more attempted terrorist attacks since October 7th alone than in the whole of 2022. “The biggest current terrorist threat in Germany, in Europe, is now again from the Islamist, jihadist side,” Neumann told the
Deutschlandfunk.
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Terror expert informs about IS also on social media
Neumann is also active on social media to raise awareness about the new danger of Islamist terrorism and to counter misinformation.
He also answers questions from the community on his X profile.
For example, why the attackers didn't blow themselves up but fled after the massacre.
According to the expert, there are differences in their processes when it comes to IS actions.
When planning, a distinction is made between martyrdom and commando operations.
In the former case, the aim is specifically to kill yourself in the attack.
On the other hand, in commando operations the outcome for the perpetrators is more open.
The killings continue until they themselves are shot by security forces or they manage to escape.
Like the attacker from Berlin's Breitscheidplatz, who was only killed while fleeing in Italy.
According to a terror expert, the attack near Moscow was a so-called commando operation
The alleged attackers in Moscow apparently succeeded in the latter.
According to official information, they were captured by Russian security forces in the Bryansk region.
Neumann explains that the weekend attack was a “commando operation” by IS based on a special wording in one of the letters claiming responsibility, according to which the attackers “then withdrew to their bases.”
According to the specialist, this is a typical formulation of the “Islamic State”.
Neumann also contradicts the theory circulating on the Internet that if a photo was attached to the confession letter, the terrorists would raise the wrong index finger, namely the left one, which is why they would not be “real” Islamists at all.
Using a whole series of pictures of other IS fighters, he shows that these are simply mistakes on their part and that they cannot alone serve as an explanation for a conspiracy, whatever it may be.
(
pkb
)