Is Isis preparing to exploit Europe’s open borders?

There is a growing sense of unease in France that a new wave of Islamist terrorism will soon break over Europe. In February, Adel Bakawan, a Franco-Iranian specialist in Islamic extremism, said that the Islamic State is regrouping and is planning a mass casualty attack in ‘Berlin, London or Paris’. This week Thibault de Montbrial, president of the Centre for Reflection on Homeland Security, spoke in similar terms during a radio interview.  

While Isis, or the Islamic State, no longer has a caliphate as it did between 2014 and 2019, it still has many fanatical followers scattered in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Referencing a report written by the Dutch intelligence services in May, de Montbrial said that the Islamic State ‘has already started reintroducing active commando units’ into Europe with the intention of attacking the West.

The route used by the Islamic State is from Syria and Afghanistan, coming through Turkey and then heading for Germany or Sweden because, de Montbrial said, these countries ‘are considered to be the most Islamic in terms of numbers’.