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UP FRONTTuesday 26 January 2016
EU police warn more attacks by IS militants likely AP Report:Toronto
LORI HINNANT
JOHN DAHLBURG
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — Europe’s top
police agency issued a
stark warning Monday: Is-
lamic State extremists will
keep attempting lethal at-
tacks on soft targets in Eu-
rope as the militant group
increasingly goes global.
Some 2½ months after sui-
cide bombers and gunmen
killed 130 people in Paris,
the Europol agency said,
Armed police officers stand guard at the Houses of Parliament in London. Europe’s top police
agency issued a stark warning Monday: Islamic State extremists will keep attempting lethal at-
tacks on soft targets in Europe.
“there is every reason to ex-
pect that IS, IS-inspired ter- leased Sunday, shows the
rorists or another religiously extent of the planning that
inspired terrorist group will
undertake a terrorist at-
tack somewhere in Europe
again, but particularly in
France, intended to cause
mass casualties among the
civilian population.”
The sobering conclusions
reached by experts from
the European Union’s
chief agency for law en-
forcement cooperation
and EU member states
make clear that many, per-
haps virtually all in Europe,
may be at risk.
“Without reliable intelli-
gence on the intentions,
activities and contacts and
travels of known terrorists it ing behind bound cap-
is nearly impossible to ex-
actly predict when and
where the next terrorist at-
tack will take place, and
what form it will take,” the
Europol report said.
Hours before the report was
issued, a new video was re-
leased by the Islamic State
group celebrating the killers geted a packed concert
who carried out the Nov. 13
attacks in the French capi-
tal — while also threatening
fresh bloodshed.
The grisly recording ends
with one militant holding a
severed head, footage of
British Prime Minister David
Cameron giving a speech,
and an IS warning that
whoever stands with the
unbelievers “will be a tar-
get for our swords.”
The 17-minute video, re-
went into the multiple at-
tacks in Paris, which French
authorities have said
from the beginning were
planned in Syria. All nine
men seen in the video died
in the Paris attacks or their the video shows the group
aftermath.
All but two of the attack-
ers were from Belgium and
France and spoke fluent
French. The two others —
identified by their noms de
guerre as Iraqis — spoke in
Arabic.
Seven of the militants, in-
cluding a 20-year-old who
was the youngest of the
group, were shown stand-
tives, described as “apos-
tates,” who were either be-
headed or shot.
“Soon on the Champs-Ely-
sees,” says Samy Amimour,
who was raised in a Paris
suburb, as he holds a cap-
tive’s head aloft.
The Nov. 13 attacks tar- at the same time you have
to gather sympathizers. If
hall, a restaurant and cafe, you’re not able to have the
and a soccer match at the two going together, then
French national stadium. the model fails,” he added.
The video glorifying the Ka- But releasing the video
lashnikov-wielding gunmen draws attention anew to at-
and suicide bombers re- tacks that terrorized central
sponsible for that carnage Paris and shows the group’s
was probably also meant ability to turn Europeans
as a recruitment tool. against their homelands in
French Interior Minister Ber- a relatively short time, said
nard Cazeneuve said Mon- Magnus Ranstorp, a coun-
day’s Europol report did terterrorism expert at the
not go markedly beyond Swedish National Defence
College. The youngest of
the group, a 20-year-old,
had been in Syria only since
February.
“They were not only battle-
(AP Photo/Frank Augstein) hardened but they were
cruel. Their threshold for kill- streetcar, with police out-
previous warnings and was ing was low. They wouldn’t
not intended to sow fear blink to kill,” Ranstorp said.
but “to look lucidly at real- He said the video’s release
ity.” two months after the at-
Gilles Kepel, a political sci- tacks fell into a typical de-
entist who wrote “Terrorism lay by Islamic State’s pro-
in France,” said even if Is- paganda apparatus.
lamic State extremists carry Expert reviews conducted
out new attacks in Europe, by Europol on Nov. 29 and
Dec. 1 concluded that the
is increasingly desperate Islamic State “is prepar-
and likely on the wane — in ing more terrorist attacks,”
part because of the indis- including copycats of the
criminate killings Nov. 13. so-called Mumbai method
“They emphasize their abil- of coordinated bombings
ity to be cruel, to kill all their and shootings by multiple
opponents and to terrorize teams of assailants that
everyone. But what is very claimed 164 lives in India’s
striking is that I do not be- financial capital in Novem-
lieve that they will have a ber 2008.
significant amount of new “The attacks will be primar-
sympathizers after those ily directed at soft targets,
videos,” he said. because of the impact it
“I believe that it’s not really generates,” the Europol re-
a display of strength. It’s port said.
rather a display of weak- “Both the November Paris
ness. Terrorism has its politi- attacks and the October
cal economy of sorts. You 2015 bombing of a Rus-
have to terrorize people. sian airliner suggest a shift
On the one hand, you in IS strategy toward going
have to spread terror, but global.”
Numerous independent
analysts have conjectured
that as Islamic State has
increasingly lost ground in
Iraq and Syria, including to
a U.S.-led international co-
alition and the Russian mili-
tary, it has lashed out at its
foes abroad.
IS commanders are given
tactical freedom depend-
ing on local circumstanc-
es, making it much harder
to detect plots, the report
said. That degree of liberty,
it said, makes it harder for
law enforcement “to de-
tect such plans and iden-
tifying the people involved
at an early stage.”q
cop found guilty of
attempted murder
TORONTO (AP) — A Toron-
to police officer has been
found guilty of attempted
murder in the shooting
death of a teen in 2013.
The killing, caught on vid-
eo, sparked protests in
Canada’s largest city after
it was posted online.
Const. James Forcillo,
however, was cleared of
second-degree murder
Monday in the death of
18-year-old Sammy Yatim.
A murder charge against a It di
police officer in Canada is con
rare. abu
The video shows Yatim “We
holding a knife inside a cess
stan
side. Yatim goads police lice
while officers yell, “Drop and
your knife!” Shortly after, him
three shots are fired. After shou
a pause, six more shots are ac
fired. The second-degree ter,”
murder charge against the cou
officer relates to the first
three shots he fired, while
the attempted murder
charge pertains to the sec-
ond volley. Some lawyers
who followed the case
said it appeared jurors tried
to reach a compromise.
“This has been reflective
of a sea change of where
we’re going in terms of
police accountability,”
said Julian Falconer, the
lawyer for the Yatim fam-
ily. “Video has made po-
lice accountable.” Forcillo
told the court he believed
the knife-toting teen was
about to come off the
streetcar to attack him,
which was why he fired.
Prosecutors had argued
that Forcillo was a “hot-
head and a bully” who ig-
nored other viable use-of-
force options when he shot
Yatim.
The case prompted the
city’s police chief to launch
a review of officers’ use of
force and their response
to emotionally disturbed
people.
It wasn’t immediately clear
how much jail time, if any,
the officer will receive.
Forcillo’s lawyer Peter
Brauti indicated he will try
to have the proceedings
stayed — which happens
after a finding of guilt but
before a conviction is reg-
istered. q