Read more about a growing surge of violent extremism and radical Islamic terrorism in Europe and the rest of the world.

What is terrorism?

Terrorism has been around for over 200 years. It is a complex and disputed term. There are over a hundred definitions of terrorism, but no generally and internationally accepted one. Terrorism means different at different times and in other languages. 

Modern-age terrorism can be best described as a tool, instrument, and mechanism for attaining ideological goals. It's the intentional, illegal, and irregular violence by non-state actors [individuals/groups] against random innocent civilians, government, military, and police for political, religious, racial, economic, and social purposes. 

"Terrorism is all about fear, coercion, and intimidation."

Terrorism is a current global security challenge that has caused death to over 10,000 people, impacting global security, economy, stability, organizations, governments, and people. Most present-day terrorist attacks have taken place in South Asia [Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and the Philippines], the Middle East [Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Israel, and Turkey], and Africa [Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique]. However, this phenomenon has been spilled over into other regions, such as the Sahel [Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso] and Europe.

Disagreements and inconsistency related to terrorism are many—different governments and organizations interpret terrorism differently to fit their own needs. Some countries oppose connecting terrorism with an illegal and unjustified invasion [state terrorism] since they would mark their military ops as terrorism. 

Likewise, suppose a country employed terrorism as a tactic [unconventional warfare] against its citizens [rebels] or another government (in a conflict) or supported non-state actors engaged in terrorism (by financing, arming). In that case, the country would be designated the state-sponsor of terrorism [aka state-sponsored terrorism]. 

Further, oppressive regimes fight opposition by labeling any antigovernmental acts as terrorism, using terrorism charges, arrests, and convictions against the political opponents. Thus, all of these cause political disputes and pejorative connotations of terrorism.

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." 

Although terrorism has neither religion nor country, everyone sees terrorism and terrorists differently—depending on where you are from. For instance, the PLO's former leader (The Palestinian Liberation Organization), Yasser Arafat, is viewed as a terrorist by some, but he is also a Nobel Peace Prize Winner. 

Likewise, the PKK [The Kurdish Workers' Party] is considered a terrorist organization by the Turkish government, but Kurds highly regard it. Further, Hezbollah is a political party in Lebanon, but it's labeled a terrorist group by some countries such as the EU, the USA, and Israel. So, there are many controversies and legal, technical, and practical challenges for cross-border counter-terrorism efforts.

What are terrorism types? 

Terrorism can take many forms based on various ideologies, such as religiously-inspired, ethnic-nationalist, and separatist terrorism. Terrorists come from every walk of life and have diverse political backgrounds [radical Islamists, far-rightists, extreme leftists, and national separatists]. 

Terrorist organizations have different agendas, motives, doctrines, and modus operandi. Terrorists apply the diverging practice, tools, tactics, and techniques [suicide bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings] for attacking many targets [the head of states, politicians, governmental institutions, military, police, foreigners, high-ranking individuals, and ordinary citizens]. Terrorists can operate domestically, regionally, or internationally. 

The meaning and doctrine of terrorism have changed over the years and people's views on it. If we look throughout history, several types of terrorism are.

• The Anarchists in the 19th/20th century [revolutionary movement, groups/individuals fighting against monarchies, assassinating the head of states], active in Europe and the USA, such as Narodnaya Volya [the people's will] operating in Russia [assassinated a Russian tsar]; 
• The Anti-Colonists at the beginning of the 20th century [irredentist and ethnonational separatist movement, groups/individuals fighting for independence against colonial powers, applying hit-and-run tactics], like the IRA (The Irish Republican Army) and the Algerian FLN (The Front de Liberation Nationale); 
• The Leftists in the mid-twentieth century [groups/individuals fighting for communism, separatism, and against capitalism, employing urban guerrilla warfare tactics, taking hostages, and hijackings], such as Black September [known for kidnapping of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich 1972] and the ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna—Basque Fatherland and Liberty);
• Narco-Terrorism during the 80s [drug traffickers or groups supporting drug trafficking to fund their operations against the government, using assassinations, hijackings, and bombings], such as Pablo Escobar in Colombia, Shining Path in Peru, Colombian FARC, and Taliban in Afghanistan;
• Religious terrorism [religiously-inspired terrorism, groups/individuals using assassinations, kidnappings, and suicide bombings] from the 80s, involving radical Islamists, extreme Christians, sectarian Jews, and fanatical Sects [the Aum Shinrikyo and the attack on the Tokyo subway by sarin gas]. Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) are associated with this new wave of terrorism.

"Terrorism has changed from positive connotations more towards negative associations over time."

Modern-era terrorism comprises the following core elements.

• Doctrine: all terrorist organizations adopt and follow an ideology based on their specific set of beliefs (e.g., Jihadi Salafism); 
• Tactic: terrorism is a tactic employed by non-state actors to achieve their particular agendas—it doesn't respect the rules of war [killing non-combatants], and it's the unconventional warfare that differs from conflicts between states [conventional warfare]; 
• Motive & goal: every terrorist wants to achieve something and has a reason why s/he is fighting for—for example, the purpose of ETA is gaining independence for the Basque Country; 
• Campaign: terrorism is never a single attack—terrorist organizations are persistent in pursuing their ideologies and never stop until fulfilling their purposes or until they are defeated. For example, Boko Haram has been waging its violent campaign in Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon since 2009;
• No boundaries: terrorism can occur anywhere—there are no neutral countries; 
• Perpetrators: committers of terror attacks can act alone [lone-wolf terrorists] or in a group;
• Violence: using force and physical violence is an essential element of every terror attack. Terrorists apply different tools, tactics, and techniques to achieve this, ranging from armed assaults to WMD/CBRN (Weapons of Mass Destruction/Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear); 
• Intimidation: the aim of terrorists is many afraid, not many dead—they succeed in this with minimal resources; 
• Drawing attention: direct victims are not the only target of terrorism. For example, the 9/11 attack perpetrators wanted to attract attention to their organization, coerce the U.S. government, and intimidate other people. So, this attack's ultimate targets weren't randomly selected casualties but the living people who watched the news on this horrific attack and the U.S. government itself. 

"Terrorists are focused on targets and audiences, not on victims."

What are the differences between terrorism, guerilla, and insurgency?

Terrorism, guerilla, and insurgency are sometimes used interchangeably. Although these three employ the same tactics [guerilla warfare, bombings, shootings, assassinations, and kidnappings] and techniques [weapons, blending into population/environments, and usually no uniforms/insignia], they differ. Terrorism is at the lowest level, then guerilla and insurgency.

Terrorism

• Terrorists are the smallest in number;
• They don't seize and hold any territory;
• They don't have the capability to engage in force-on-force attacks;
• They don't function as armed units; 
• They attack undefended targets.

Guerilla

• Guerillas are more extensive in number than terrorists;
• They are better armed and trained;
• They control the territory [training camps and bases] and population;
• They have the ability to engage in force-on-force attacks;
• They can function as armed units; 
• They can attack defended targets.

Insurgency

• Insurgents are the largest in number and more powerful than guerillas;
• They can mobilize thousands/tens of thousands of people.

Some groups have started as terrorist organizations and grown stronger as guerillas and insurgents over the years (e.g., Hezbollah). Many of today's active terrorist organizations can be classified as guerillas (e.g., FARC) and insurgents.

What is cyber-terrorism?

We live in the digital age—our dependency on the internet and new technologies make us susceptible to cyber-attacks. Technology is advancing continuously, and adversaries are looking for a way to exploit our vulnerabilities. Cyber-terrorism is a new way of terrorism and is evolving very fast.

Cyber-terrorism is used interchangeably with cyber-crime since both cyber-terrorists and cyber-criminals use cyber-attacks at the expense of citizens, organizations, and governments; however, the difference is in their motives. Cyber-criminals commit cyber-attacks for their gain (e.g., to steal money/information). Cyber-terrorists carry out cyber-crime to inflict more severe harm [they use computers for conducting physical attacks on computer-controlled targets (e.g., critical infrastructures: networks, energy, and defense)]. 

Emerging technology and the internet enable terrorist organizations to mobilize resources for their cause in many ways, such as follows.

• Securing finances [stealing money, through fundraising, and money laundering];
• Gathering valuable intel on potential targets;
• Purchasing weapons and other equipment [black markets]; 
• Communication and recruitment [dark web]; 
• Promotion of their ideologies to the world’s population [social media].

What are global counter-terrorism challenges?

In most countries worldwide, security forces can neutralize perpetrators of terrorist attacks; however, the enduring challenge for combating terrorism remains to prevent an attack before it occurs.

In the 2020 terrorist attack in Vienna, Austria, police knew the attacker as he was sentenced to 22 months for trying to join the Islamic State in Syria. Upon his release from jail, the attacker tried to buy weapons and ammunition in neighboring Slovakia [of which their counterparts in Slovakia informed the Austrian police]. Unfortunately, Austrian agencies failed to stop the attack in which several people had been killed and injured. 

According to intelligence, tens of thousands of ISIS supporters in Europe [of which many of them have entered Europe in recent, ongoing, and uncontrolled migration]. 

In the 2020 terrorist incident in Nice, France, the attacker traveled from Tunisia (a country that has produced most ISIS fighters) to conduct the attack that left three people dead. It worries that many Europeans had joined the Islamic State back then (when it had had a caliphate). Although the Middle East was the most dominant source of ISIS fighters, about a fifth of all foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria came from Western Europe [Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, France, Austria, Netherlands, Finland, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy]. Hence, these countries are at the highest risk of terrorism. 

It is not enough to put potential terrorists on the list but to have them under constant watch. A legal mechanism should be revamped so that the criminal justice system can be used as a counter-terrorism tool when dealing with extremists (e.g., establishing an international court against terrorism).

What role does the media play in terrorism?

Mass media, politicians, public figures, and social media are essential for terrorist organizations to spread fear, panic, and messages. 

The news of the 2020 terrorist attack in Mozambique was splashed in headlines across all mainstream media; some words used in readings were the following: cruel, diabolical, massacre, beheading, slaughter, and chopping. So, how do people feel when reading these headlines—frightened? Yes, for sure; however, that is what terrorists want precisely. 

Terrorists wish to get publicity and spread their message to a large audience. Thus, the media also play a crucial role in counter-terrorism. Hence, the news reporting on terrorist attacks should follow counter-terrorism best practices.

• Media coverage shouldn't reveal too much information about a terrorist incident;
• The report should be realistic and avoid strong words that spread fear and cause panic; 
• The media shouldn't release ongoing counter-terrorism operations in the live program; 
• The press shouldn't publish photos/videos of the crime scene;
• The reporters shouldn't interview terrorists.

Social Media as a tool for terrorism

The use of social media is widespread nowadays. In a terror attack, people post pictures, videos, and information on the internet, making things harder and dangerous for investigations. Footage of victims being shot in the recent attack in Vienna, Austria, has circulated on Twitter even though the police calls for stopping sharing photos.

Terrorist messages will continue to circulate the internet even after the creators of those messages are arrested or killed. The internet facilitates the promotion of radicalism and extremism. It is almost impossible to single out which angry young man/woman with an internet connection and a weapon [knife/pistol/rifle/bomb] is capable of terrorism. Therefore, more should be done on this matter (e.g., tightening controls on social media and the internet), and legislation on this issue is urgently needed.

"No one can recognize a terrorist."

Government responses to terrorism

Terrorists want us to respond irrationally and emotionally to a terrorist attack so that they can coerce and intimidate society and governments. Governments can't end terrorism by employing military means only. 

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attack, we got the war on terror; but, it hasn't stopped terrorism. Contrary, terrorism has been on the rise since then. Al-Qaeda is defeated, but the Islamic State has taken the place of the most notorious terrorist organization. 

Following the defeat of ISIS, it continues to inflict harm on many citizens and governments worldwide. ISIS has lost its territories in the Middle East [so-called caliphate] and leadership; but, ISIS doctrine still exists in people who identify with this ideology. Attackers associated with ISIS have recently conducted sporadic, simple, and lone-wolf attacks in Europe, using different methodologies and limited resources. 

For stopping terrorism, it isn't just enough to neutralize the head of a terrorist organization and its members—a country shouldn't fight terrorism as a tactic but terrorism as an indoctrination. Governments should eradicate the root cause of terrorism—prevent the making of terrorists: financing, recruitment, training, and radicalization [deradicalization].

Business resilience against terrorism

Terrorism can significantly affect international business. Therefore, corporations should design and implement security measures to build business resilience and minimize the detrimental effect of terrorism. Companies should review their security policy and emergency strategy. 

Does your crisis management include contingency planning for sudden adverse events like terrorist attacks? An enterprise can train its employees in terrorism awareness and emergency preparedness to identify and survive a terrorist incident.

An organization can also reduce security and financial risk by hiring private security services. If a company's business involves operations in terrorist-prone regions, it should consult security experts to manage the risk.

Maintaining personal safety and security in a terror attack

Gun supporters advocate arming law-abiding citizens (especially in Europe and the US). However, this option isn't quite viable—it is mainly backed up by people proficient in handling weapons [ex-military/police personnel]. From their standpoint and experience, this sounds logical. Using weapons isn't a problem for them since they are trained and prepared both physically and mentally. But, not all people are skilled at arms. 

If the government armed the unskilled individuals, it would put them in greater danger. Anyway, by providing firearm training to civilians, the government can solve this issue. Nevertheless, this isn't a feasible and cost-effective solution. Imagine how much it would cost a country to train all its people in weapons handling. Okay, this also can be sorted out if citizens cover their training costs, but not all people are able/willing to do so. So, it's not a silver bullet. 

Besides, using firearms isn't just about knowing how to open fire. It is more about learning when to shoot or not (to be prepared to use a gun in critical moments). So, firing into a static target is easy, but exchanging fire with a person(s) who wants to kill you is a whole different level that requires specific mentality, experience, and training similar to the military and police. However, not all people can sustain/take this kind of exercise (psychologically, physically, and medically).

Anyway, I am not against civilian firearm training. Weapon skills and unarmed combat are helpful for personal safety and self-defense nowadays. But, terrorism is a serious and complex issue and can't be solved by arming the entire nation. I'm not against arming the people—I'm for it to some extent. You can have guns at your home to defend your property and family from criminals and home invasions, but walking around armed can do more harm than good [easily triggered].

The best way of securing personal safety and security is adequate security measures implemented by the government and supported by private security companies. It is improbable that terrorists attack people's homes. They aim at critical infrastructures more likely. So, security forces should be increased on the streets, around important buildings [government institutions], and crowded places [shopping malls, religious buildings, schools, and business centers].

Final thoughts

The negative impact of terrorism is enormous. It is a constant threat to personal security and the global economy, society, and politics. The global counter-terrorism strategy shouldn't be based on political agendas but on a collaborative approach and a coordinated response. With pertinent intelligence, security services can avoid fundamental mistakes.

For achieving international collaboration on counter-terrorism, we must fully share relevant intelligence and generally agree on what terrorism is, whom we are fighting, what makes a terrorist group, and what organizations should be on the list of designated terrorist groups.

Society must show that terrorism isn't a rewarding endeavor and an effective instrument for attaining ideological goals. Governments must make it harder for terrorists to impact communities. We don't just need to reduce the risk of terrorist attacks but decrease fear and increase resilience to terrorism to ensure the effect of terrorism is minimal.

If you, your clients, or your organization are looking for professional security services to protect people and critical assets, get in touch with Nemesis Protection Global at contact@nemesisprotection.com.