Threats
British
police prepare for Christmas ‘lone wolf’ terror attacks
Published time:
December 24, 2014 11:45
AFP Photo / Justin
Tallis
British police are deploying resources to
stave off the threat posed by Islamist groups plotting terror attacks in crowded
public spaces as shoppers scramble for last minute purchases before Christmas.
The precautions follow
three incidents of ‘hit and run’ attacks carried out by people allegedly linked
to Islamist groups in France. As a result, the French government has ordered
300 soldiers to police French city streets, while counter-terror police ramp up
monitoring online.
On Monday, a man killed one shopper and
injured nine others in the French town of Nantes, after driving a van into a
crowded market place.
AFP Photo / Justin
Tallis
Last week, thirteen
people were injured in Dijon after a man drove into a crowd of pedestrians,
shouting the Arabic phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ – ‘God is
Great’. The attack came the day after a man was shot dead in Tours after
stabbing three police officers.
A senior Whitehall source told The Times
that British police were monitoring incidents involving terrorists opening fire
with weapons in public places.
“We can’t put bollards
up outside all the shops in Oxford Street, but there are extra protective
measures that can be taken,” the source added.
According to the
government, such terror attacks have been classed as “highly likely,” while
the UK has decided to keep the terror threat level at ‘severe’.
UK authorities have put more resources
into monitoring ‘lone wolf’ attacks, particularly since British fighters for
the terror group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) have urged Muslims to
conduct attacks in the West if they cannot travel to Syria.
Earlier this year a number of British
fighters appeared in a widely circulated ISIS video calling on Britons to join
the militia group.
“Are you willing to
sacrifice the fat job you've got, the big car you've got, the family you've
got? Are you willing to sacrifice all that for the sake of Allah?” one fighter,
identified as Abu Bara al-Hindi, said in the video.
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