Attacks have doubled in Europe says intelligence report

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 4 - Jihadi terrorism has gained momentum since the start of the conflict between Hamas and Israel with terrorist organizations taking advantage of the Middle Eastern crisis to recruit new members, in particular youths, to carry out attacks which have doubled in 2024 in Europe compared to the previous year, according to the annual intelligence report to Parliament presented Tuesday.
    Meanwhile Italy continues to be a target of jihadi propaganda, the report also said.
    "Jihadi terrorism has gained new life since the explosion of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the domino effect that has derived from it.
    "Through artfully constructed propaganda, al Qaida and Daesh (also known as IS, ISIL and ISIS) have exploited the Middle Eastern crisis in particular to inspire young people - in some cases teens - who were already present on European territory and who were often not directly linked to jihadi organizations, to carry out attacks.
    "The increase in the number of attacks carried out in Europe in 2024, which doubled compared to 2023, must be read in this perspective", said the study.
    The report also highlighted that "Italy continues to attract the attention of jihadi propaganda due to its centrality in the Christian world, the commitment in the global anti-Daesh Coalition and the presence on national territory of symbolic sites of Western culture and history", according to the findings presented Tuesday at the headquarters of the Italian Intelligence Agency in Piazza Dante, Rome.
    "The conflict between Israel and Hamas has revitalised the media campaign" carried out by "both Daesh and al Qaida against the West.
    "In this context, Italy is also listed as a potential target over its stated pro-Israeli position", said the study, which quoted in particular the "arson attack carried out in the night between January 31 and February 1 2024 against the US Consulate in Florence", noting it "confirmed the presence of risks also in our country".
    It also reported propaganda "inciting attacks against Christian places of worship in Italy".
    The web was key to "recruit and incite violent attacks", including in Italy, the study also noted.
    However, the risks did not only come from online propaganda but also from Central-Asian and North-Caucasian citizens with connections to the so-called Islamic State's Afghanistan-based branch, ISIS-Khorasan, who travelled to Italy and to other European countries, it said.
    In some cases, they entered the Schengen area after crossing Turkey and the Western Balkans, per the report.
    It also said that a total of 82 individuals deemed as a potential threat to national security by Italy's intelligence services were expelled from the country in 2024.
    The intelligence report presented on Tuesday also mentioned the rising risk posed by far-right supremacist groups, highlighting their links in some cases to jihadi organizations in Italy and in other European countries.
    It reported a rising number of radicalized young militants, including minors, and said "recent police operations have shown how the threat is progressively moving from an online to an offline dimension, moreover highlighting several cases of contamination between this form of violent extremism and other terrorist groups".
    In Italy, as in other European countries several contacts have been reported between supremacist and jihadi groups, it said.
    (ANSA).