An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir Dec 2017 / Jan 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 20 | S ince January 2015 there has been an unprecedented wave of terror at- tacks that have penetrated Europe's defences. Major cities such as london, Manchester, Barcelona, Brussels, Paris and Stockholm have all been targeted. Recently, the summer months of 2017 have been marred by a series of attacks on holiday resorts, concerts and public thoroughfares, resulting in death, injury and mayhem. With the rise of the so-called Islamic State (IS), the threat of a new Cold War in Eastern Europe, and famine and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa, world intelligence agencies have a new and challenging role in a deeply unstable world. Extremist groups are losing ground in Iraq and Syria, and they are now bringing their violence and extremism to Europe with attacks increasing at an alarming rate. As Europe reels from an onslaught of terrorism, top counter-terrorism officials describe their struggle to contain the threat as 'unprecedented'. MI5 chief, An- drew Parker, recently stated that the UK's intelligence services are facing an intense challenge from terrorism. This year, Eng- land has suffered five terror attacks with 20 major attacks being foiled in the last four years. There are an estimated 3,000 extremists being monitored who Parker states are "committed in some way to sup- port or act in violent Islamist extremism". A number of years ago, small radical groups emerged in cities throughout Europe. Many of these were not religiously motivated but were disaffected youths, petty criminals and loners. These were broken up by the police and many were im- prisoned for short terms, but it was there, behind bars, that they became radicalised and forged connections that enabled them to expand their networks. It would be these prison relations and contacts that would later play major roles in the attacks throughout Europe. On their release from prison, many trav- elled abroad. Weak and inadequate border controls enabled free travel in and out of Europe and intelligence agencies chose to ignore those leaving the country to train and fight, never imagining that they would return to carry out terrorist attacks. The bombing of Syria also radicalised many living in Europe. While some terrorist organisations, such as Al Qaeda, screened their recruits, others, such as IS, did not. This allowed many people who had not previously been flagged by intelligence agencies to travel, train and, in many cases, return to Europe to recruit, establish sleeper cells, and wait for orders on what, By PAul o'BRIEN MA Counter terrorism officers near the scene of the terrorist attack on London Bridge on 4th June 2017. Photo: Getty Images Europe

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