Mosque attack in France

A man tried to drive a car into a crowd of people standing in front of a mosque in Paris. There were no injuries as a result of theincident which place in a suburb called Creteil. The French police have already announced that they have caught the suspect. The incident took place only weeks after the Finnsbury Park attack in London, where a man rammed his van into a group of people standing near a mosque.

Some of the larger attacks that have taken place in similar vein:

July 14, 2016, France – A man drove a 20-ton rental truck into a massive crowd after the Bastille Day fireworks displace in Nice. The attack killed 84.

November 28, 2016, US – A man named Abdul Razak Ali Artan carried out a car and knife attack. There were no fatalities but 11 people were injured.

December 19, 2016, Berlin – 12 people died after a Tunisian man rammed a tractor trailer at a crowded Christmas market.

March 22, 2017, London – An SUV was driven into a crowd standing along the Westminster Bridge in London. The attack led to the deaths of four people.

April 7, 2017, Sweden–Four people died when a truck drove right into pedestrians in Stockholm.

June 19, 2017, London – The Finnsbury Park attack took place.

Analysis

According to an eye witness who spoke to Le Parisien newspaper, during the latest attack the person behind the wheels drove around the mosque at least three times.  The witness then went on to describe that it was clear that the driver was trying to knock down pedestrians. The newspaper went onto to note that the man apparently had wanted revenge for the terror attacks that have taken place in France.

Europe in the last few years has seen increased instances of terror attacks. In January 2015, terrorists stormed the offices of the media company, Charlie Hebdo and attacked the employees. But the single deadliest terror attack in France took place in November of the same year when a series of coordinated attacks took place across the city. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 130 victims. 

Assessment

Our assessment is that vehicle-ramming attacks might become more frequent as they are easier to plan and carry out without detection. This form of an attack can very easily be carried out by individuals as it was the case in France. This incident begs the following questions:

• Is there a pattern emerging with these kind of attacks?
• Are these just isolated attacks conducted by a deranged mind?
• Is it possible that these attacks could be funded by some larger organization with a clear agenda?