Barcelona attacks may be a sign of worse to come in Europe

For the past week the European media has focused on a terrorist cell of men of Moroccan heritage who used a van and a car to mow down and kill 14 people in two attacks in northern Spain. The attacks took place in Barcelona, one of Europe’s favourite tourist destinations, so they clearly merit a lot of coverage. But the facts of the case are depressingly familiar.

The terrorists were technically incompetent – they blew up their hideout and their recruiter, an imam called Abdelbaki Es Satty, in an accident that set off the gas canisters they were planning to use in a spectacular attack. One of the possible targets was the fantastical Sagrada Familia church, under construction for 135 years and unlikely to be completed before 2030.

Fearing exposure after the explosion, they set about killing people in the crudest possible way. The only thing certain about the group’s goals is that they all wanted to die. They wore fake suicide vests so that when cornered by the police they would be shot dead. Younes Abouyaaqoub, the driver of the van that killed 13 in Barcelona, fled from the scene, but he had no plan of escape. He was found wandering without money.

So there is much in this cell’s activities that is similar to previous vehicle-based attacks on crowds in Europe. While they were clearly terrorists, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the roots of their motivation was the spiritual redemption of second generation Muslim immigrants who are confused about their identity. Friends recalled Abouyaaqoub as “calm, quiet and shy” and a good student, just the sort of person who seems most likely to fall under the spell of a preacher promoting a death cult.  Aside from these familiar tropes, there is an issue that concerns European security officials as they face random attacks from ISIL-inspired terrorists at the same time as continuing high migration flows from North Africa.  For years, Morocco has been a cornerstone of stability in North Africa and is seen in Europe as an Arab country of rare cohesion. There is some truth to this exceptionalism. King Mohammed VI defused the Arab Spring protests in 2011 with adroit political concessions. Since 2015, the Moroccan security services have been professionalised with the creation of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, a sort of FBI clone.

The writer is a commentator on global affairs

Barcelona attacks may be a sign of worse to come in Europe

For the past week the European media has focused on a terrorist cell of men of Moroccan heritage who used a van and a car to mow down and kill 14 people in two attacks in northern Spain. The attacks took place in Barcelona, one of Europes favourite tourist destinations, so they clearly merit a lot of coverage. But the facts of the case are depressingly familiar. The terrorists were technically incompetent they blew up their hideout and their recruiter, an imam called Abdelbaki Es Satty, in an accident that set off the gas canisters they were planning to use in a spectacular attack. One of the possible targets was the fantastical Sagrada Familia church, under construction for 135 years and unlikely to be completed before 2030. Fearing exposure after the explosion, they set about killing people in the crudest possible way. The only thing certain about the groups goals is that they all wanted to die. They wore fake suicide vests so that when cornered by the police they would be shot dead. Younes Abouyaaqoub, the driver of the van that killed 13 in Barcelona, fled from the scene, but he had no plan of escape. He was found wandering without money. So there is much in this cells activities that is similar to previous vehicle-based attacks on crowds in Europe. While they were clearly terrorists, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the roots of their motivation was the spiritual redemption of second generation Muslim immigrants who are confused about their identity. Friends recalled Abouyaaqoub as calm, quiet and shy and a good student, just the sort of person who seems most likely to fall under the spell of a preacher promoting a death cult. Aside from these familiar tropes, there is an issue that concerns European security officials as they face random attacks from ISIL-inspired terrorists at the same time as continuing high migration flows from North Africa. For years, Morocco has been a cornerstone of stability in North Africa and is seen in Europe as an Arab country of rare cohesion. There is some truth to this exceptionalism. King Mohammed VI defused the Arab Spring protests in 2011 with adroit political concessions. Since 2015, the Moroccan security services have been professionalised with the creation of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, a sort of FBI clone. The writer is a commentator on global affairs