From the French edition of The Local
The threat of a jihadist attack in France has reached a level “without precedent” and new attacks are inevitable, according to top counter-terrorism officials.
“The threat is permanent,” said one high-level official in the defence ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Not one day goes by without an alert, the discovery of a network trying to send people to Syria or Iraq, or an intervention (by the security services). The number of targets has exploded. There are two or three thousand, maybe four thousand, people identified or suspected of evil intentions.”
Nor are they all amateurs, the source added — many are highly educated. “They are pros, not drop-outs,” he said.
The biggest concerns relate to the estimated 200 individuals who have returned from training or fighting in areas held by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
“They have lost all inhibitions about violence,” said another top counter-terrorism official, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
Officials also fear that competition between militant groups may drive them to ever-more brutal acts. “Al-Qaeda needs to restore its prestige and will try to compete with IS with complex and major actions,” said the official.
Unveiling new surveillance laws on Thursday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the jihadist threat was “constantly evolving,” emanating as much from groups based abroad as from individuals present on French soil. “The problem is not to know if there will be a new attack,” said Valls. “It is to know when and where.”
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One Response
The last time it was this bad was, perhaps, in 730-31, as the Empire of Islam advanced ever more, deep into what would become what we now know as France.
Last time, France had Charles Martel.
There was a major threat, also, in 1565, when the Ottoman Fleet bore down upon Malta. Fortunately, Malta was held – barely – by a force that many in western Europe already regarded as an anachronism, the Knights of Saint John, led by a fervent Catholic Frenchman, Jean Parisot de Valetta.
And it is worse, this time around, because millions of Muslims are entrenched in their colonies all over France, and inside those Muslim colonies are the jihadis, becoming ever bolder and more aggressive by the day.