Europe: While the number of terrorist attacks in 2019 has declined significantly, ISIS extremist ideologies continue to threaten Europe, especially from "lone wolves".

Usman Khan, 28, turned November 29 into a "black Friday" literally for the British capital, carrying out a knife-thrusting attack on the London Bridge that left two dead and three injured. before being destroyed by the police.

Just a few hours later, the people of the Dutch city of L'Aja were also scared when a man stabbed three teenagers with a knife. Dutch police are hunting the suspect and not excluding this is a terrorist attack.

Two consecutive stabbing in one day has made all of Europe fear of the risk of terrorist rise in the form of "lone wolf" attacks, carried out by extremists alone. need the help of the network, can kill anyone they meet on the road.

That risk has been warned by experts since the Islamic State (IS) militants have declared themselves dead in Iraq and Syria, especially after ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed by US special forces. extermination in Syria. After consecutive defeats on the battlefield and the death of the leader, "lone wolf" is the only form of attack that extremists can carry out in Europe to avenge the organization.

Two recent reports by the European Police Agency (Europol) and the UN Security Council have assessed that while the number of terrorist attacks is declining, IS views and ideology continue. customs is a global threat, especially to European security.

The Europol Trends and Terrorism Report 2019 published by Europol shows that the total number of terrorist attacks in 2018 in the EU has dropped to a 4-year low.

Three weeks prior to the London Bridge knife attack, the British government even lowered the warning of a "significant" terrorist threat from "serious" after the rebel leader of Baghdadi was killed by US special forces. . However, the report shows that the number of attacks and arrests of extremists is increasing, confirming the risk of extremists attacking terrorists is still a major concern.

A report by the Security Council, which monitors ISIS activities and al-Qaeda, said that although the Islamic State "Islamic kingdom" has collapsed in Syria and Iraq, the organization continues to consolidate. forces and seeks attacks worldwide.

Prisoners, who are vulnerable to ISIS extremist ideology, will be a big problem for Europe. Evidence for this is the increasing number of arrests and convictions associated with terrorism and repatriation of European militants joining the Islamic State in Syria. The Europol report points out that detained IS elements tend to maintain and spread extremist ideals to other prisoners.

The fall of the strongholds has reduced the ability of IS to become an existential threat, making it difficult to organize a major terrorist attack in Europe. The ability to propagate extremist ideology on the Internet is also blocked, though not completely, both reports said.

The loss of territory in Syria and Iraq also reduces the "attraction" of IS, when those who want to join IS have no place to go. Although ISIS affiliates, al-Qaeda-linked organizations and other terrorist groups are still active in many parts of the world, none of them is as powerful as the "Islamic kingdom" of IS in Iraq and Syria.

According to European Union (EU) statistics, the number of deaths due to terrorist attacks in Europe has decreased from 150 in 2015 to 13 in 2018. However, these do not make Europe safer against threats from IS and other terrorist groups.

The IS ideology and worldview of IS is still attractive to many people. This ideology is based on the belief that society needs to work on previous strict Islamic law, especially the Abbasid dynasty (750-1517), which is said to be the Golden Age of Islam.

According to Richard Burchill, director of the London Defense and Security Forum research institute, spreading and pursuing this ideology doesn't always lead to violence, but it also contributes to the formation of European security ideas, attitudes and actions.

Europol and UN reports emphasize that ISIS ideology will continue to spread throughout Europe among vulnerable groups, repatriates (including relatives of IS fighters). ) and prisoners in prison.

The EU report also talks about the challenges posed by organizations with the same ideology with IS abroad and uses this to spread instability around the world, as well as inspiring groups. Jihad in Europe.

Burchill said that European security will be threatened when ISIS extremists no longer have a place to operate in Syria, they will seek to carry out terrorist attacks locally. The recent decline in the number of terrorist attacks is mainly due to inadequate and determined jihad elements, not because of the decline in extremist ideological influence.

The Europol report shows that the number of IS recipients in Europe is increasing, especially among prisoners and repatriated prisoners, as well as vulnerable, agitated individuals. perform acts of terrorism.

The influence of the IS ideology in prisons will be a problem. Two reports said the number of arrests and convictions of extremists last year has increased, allowing veteran IS elements in prison to have access to new subjects.

The repatriated IS militants will be an "additional force" to spread the IS ideology in prisons, and their "troop" will continue to increase as the last IS strongholds collapsed and more and more fighters were repatriated to Europe.

The influence of the IS specter will be evident in European prisons, which nurture extremist ideology for those carrying out terrorist attacks in France and Belgium. Khan, who stabbed a knife on the London Bridge, was once a terrorist sentenced to prison in 2012. He was released from prison in December 2018 after accepting electronic surveillance bracelets.

"It is unfortunate that the European police and police efforts to prevent terrorist attacks from terrorist attacks has led to an increasing number of individuals likely to be affected by the IS ideology and to be easily provoked. "The situation of post-IS security is clearly getting more complex," said Burchill.