EU: Islamist terror still serious threat

EU: Islamist terror still serious threat


The threat of an Islamist terror attack is still serious and should not be underestimated, the bloc's anti-terrorism coordinator warned Thursday. "It would be a mistake to believe that the threat level has decreased significantly," Gilles de Kerchove told a public hearing of the Interior and Economic Committee of the EU parliament.


Introducing his annual report, de Kerchove stressed that the global economic and financial crisis had exacerbated the threat.


And he pointed to this month's general election in Germany as a potential risk.


De Kerchove, appointed to the post in 2007, told parliamentarians "the threat of Islamist terrorism in Europe remains serious."


The anti-terror chief pointed to failing states such as Yemen and the Sahel-region of Africa as potential breeding grounds for terrorists.


Although the last successful terror attacks in Europe were the tube and bus bombings in London in 2005, de Kerchove warned that it was only due to intelligence work that there had not been further incidents.


He also pointed to the increased radicalisation of some Muslim youths, and the called for more drastic measures to protect the internet from cyber-attack.


Source: EarthTimes (English)