French teacher beheaded Paris vehicular impact attempt Nice bladed weapon attack Head of MI5 makes Plot to kidnap Michigan Pool Re SOLUTIONS in targeted attack governor foiled Understanding Risk Knife attack in Dresden Security guard stabbed first public address at French Consulate in Interesting reads Saudi Arabia Critical: Severe: Substantial: Moderate: Low: Threat an attack is an attack is an attack is likely an attack is an attack is overview highly likely in highly likely possible but highly unlikely the near future not likely Threat from terrorism to the UK: Threat from Northern Ireland related terrorism to Northern Ireland: Threat Overview October witnessed a noticeable increase in the frequency of Islamist attacks in Europe. In France, a spate of attacks related to the ongoing controversy around the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed led the French Interior Ministry to raise the national security alert system to its highest level. In Germany, an attack on tourists signalled that the threat from Islamist extremism persists regardless of any exacerbating national controversies. In his first public address, the new head of MI5 reiterated this, identifying Islamist extremism as the primary terror threat facing the UK. While the frequency of recent attacks in France likely reflects a specific national dynamic, the heightened Monthly Threat Update threat landscape across the continent likely represents a return to normalcy after COVID-19-related October 2020 restrictions disrupted attack plans and restricted the ability of terrorists to target the public. A return to strict ‘lockdown’ measures in response to rising COVID-19 cases would likely see a similar dynamic play out in coming months. French teacher beheaded Paris vehicular impact attempt Nice bladed weapon attack Head of MI5 makes Plot to kidnap Michigan Pool Re SOLUTIONS governor foiled Understanding Risk in targeted attack Knife attack in Dresden Security guard stabbed first public address at French Consulate in Interesting reads Saudi Arabia Synagogue shooting. French teacher beheaded in Following Paty’s murder, President targeted attack Macron said France would not ‘renounce the caricatures’ On 16 October, 18-year-old and the school’s address on social and defended the right publish Chechen refugee Aboulakh media. He has been arrested, offensive material. The French Anzorov entered the Collège along with 10 others implicated in Interior Ministry announced action Bois-d’Aulne in Conflans-Sainte- the attack. against various non-governmental Honorine, a suburb 30km north- This was the second attack related organisations alleged to have been west of Paris, and beheaded involved in inciting terrorism. teacher Samuel Paty. to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack in as many months, following a The response led to backlash Anzorov asked departing stabbing outside the form offices both within France, and abroad, students to point out Paty, before of the satirical magazine on 25 where various religious and secular beheading the teacher. He then September. In contrast to the leaders sympathetic to Islamism posted a picture to Twitter of Paty’s September knife attack, which accused the French government severed head. Responding officers saw random members of the of attacking Islam and called for a confronted Anzorov near the public targeted at a symbolic boycott of French goods. Islamist school, and after a confrontation in location, Paty’s murder was terrorist organisations also called which he discharged an airgun, he redolent of earlier targeted attacks for ‘revenge’ attacks against was shot and killed by police. on individuals who engaged in France. high-profile behaviour antagonist Anzorov targeted Paty specifically, to Islamists. Since Paty’s murder there have as during a civic education class been several other incidents on on freedom of expression earlier in The impact of such targeted French soil or targeting French October, Paty had shown his class attacks is sometimes restricted interests overseas. To a greater a controversial caricature of the to immediate vicinity of the or lesser degree, these are all Prophet Mohammed, published incident. However, they can also likely connected to Paty’s murder in the satirical Charlie Hebdo develop into extensive and violent and the subsequent international magazine. The father of a student manhunts with a much wider area controversy. Further attacks are at Paty’s school is alleged to have impacted, as occurred following French CRS (Compagnies Republicaines de Securite) police officers patrol probable. encourage action against the the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting near the entrance of Le Bois d’Aulne middle school in Conflans-Sainte- Honorine, after a teacher was decapitated by an attacker. (Photo by teacher, including sharing his name and 2015 Copenhagen Great Thomas COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images) French teacher beheaded Paris vehicular impact attempt Nice bladed weapon attack Head of MI5 makes Plot to kidnap Michigan Pool Re SOLUTIONS in targeted attack first public address governor foiled Understanding Risk Knife attack in Dresden Security guard stabbed at French Consulate in Interesting reads Saudi Arabia Paris vehicular Knife attack in Dresden impact attempt On 4 October, a man armed with a knife killed a tourist and On 21 October, police in Paris wounded another in Dresden. arrested seven British citizens of Police did not identify a suspect Pakistani origin for attempting to until 17 October. The suspect in run over a gendarme outside of the Israeli Embassy. The vehicle custody is a 20-year-old Syrian and another car accompanying it man. Prosecutors said the suspect fled the scene. No one was injured holds extreme Islamist beliefs during the attack. and had previously been charged with supporting foreign terrorist The seven Britons have been organisations. charged with attempted murder, and while prosecutors have not Low-complexity Islamist attacks confirmed that they are treating the are not uncommon in Germany. incident as terrorism, the location However, the incident is notable for and modus operandi strongly as the attacker was able to evade suggest the attack it was. police for two weeks before being While Islamist extremist plots in detained. While terrorist conducting Europe often involve multi-national mass casualty attacks do co-conspirators, an entirely sometimes try to escape the scene foreign cell launching attacks in and evade detection, it is more a neighbouring country (if this common for terrorists intent on is indeed the case) is unusual. causing mass casualties to desist There is realistic possibility those only when interdicted by security involved were motivated by the forces. political furore which followed the beheading of Samuel Paty. The attack took place outside the Israeli embassy near the Champs Élysées in central Paris. (Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images French teacher beheaded Paris vehicular impact attempt Nice bladed weapon attack Head of MI5 makes Plot to kidnap Michigan Pool Re SOLUTIONS in targeted attack governor foiled Understanding Risk Knife attack in Dresden Security guard stabbed first public address at French Consulate in Interesting reads Saudi Arabia Nice bladed Security guard stabbed Head of MI5 makes first at French Consulate in public address weapon attack Saudi Arabia The new Director General of MI5, On 29 October, a man armed with Ken McCallum, gave a speech a knife killed three people outside On 29 October, a security guard at on the current national security of the Roman Catholic basilica the French Consulate in Jeddah, threats facing the UK on 14 Notre-Dame de in the centre Saudi Arabia, was attacked and October. McCallum emphasised of Nice. The attacker partially wounded by a Saudi man armed the threats form hostile states such beheaded one of the victims. The with a knife. The attacker was as China, Iran and Russia, but also attack took place over a 28-minute apprehended by Saudi security underscored that the agency’s period, before police wounded forces. largest mission remains and arrested the attacker, who The attack occurred against countering terrorism. was named as a 21-year-old the backdrop of widespread Tunisan man, Brahim Aouissaui, anger at France in the Muslim who arrived as a migrant in late world following French President September 2020. Macron’s defence of the right to The attack was likely, at least in publish material offensive after the part, inspired to the beheading of murder of Samuel Paty in Paris. Samuel Paty in Paris two weeks Diplomatic outposts are often earlier. Religious sites, both targeted by terrorists who do Ken McCallum, Director General MI5 Christian and Jewish, have been not have the capability to launch frequently targeted by Islamist attacks directly on the targeted McCallum identified right-wing extremists in France. While iconic country. Consequently, Western terrorism as a rising threat, with religious sites like major Cathedrals embassies and consulates eight of the 27 plots foiled in past will have terrorist risk mitigation have strong protective security three years emanating from the measures, there is often very measures which limit the far-right. However, McCallum little protective security at smaller effectiveness of low complexity also said that Islamist extremism churches, making them relatively methodologies like bladed weapon continues to be the largest threat French gendarmes secure the area around the Notre-Dame de by volume, with “tens of thousands soft targets for mass casualty l’Assomption Basilica in Nice after a knife attacker killed three people. or vehicular impact attacks. attacks. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP) (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via of individuals committed to Getty Images) [the] ideology”. French teacher beheaded Paris vehicular impact attempt Nice bladed weapon attack Head of MI5 makes Plot to kidnap Michigan Pool Re SOLUTIONS in targeted attack Understanding Risk Knife attack in Dresden Security guard stabbed first public address governor foiled at French Consulate in Interesting reads Saudi Arabia Interesting reads: New IRA leadership discusses utilising cyber attacks https://www.belfasttelegraph.