Jihadi terror attacks in the European Union more than doubled in 2017, according to a report by Europol Wednesday.
Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency located in The Hague, discovered EU member states reported 33 foiled, failed and completed jihadi terrorist attacks in 2017 compared to 13 in 2016, according to a “2018 Terrorism Situation and Trend” report. Sixty-two people were killed in ten of the 33 terror attacks in 2017. Police arrested 705 suspects in 2017 compared to 718 in 2016, according to the report. (RELATED: Italian Politician Says Sending Back Illegal Immigrants Is A Top Priority)
“The main threat is coming from foreign terrorist fighters even though the numbers … that are returning are quite low,” Manuel Navarrete, the leader of Europol’s Counter Terrorism Centre, told reporters, according to Reuters. “Even though we suffer more attacks, they were less sophisticated.” Many of the jihadis were homegrown, meaning they became radicalized in their country of residence without traveling to join a terrorist group abroad. (RELATED: Asylum Numbers Significantly Drop In EU)
Europol’s report found that vehicles were the most popular method for jihadis in carrying out the attacks. One example is when a van plowed into a crowd in Barcelona in 2017, killing 15 and injuring 131. Another 2017 jihadi terror attack was the Manchester Arena bombing following an Ariana Grande concert in England. The suicide bomber, 22, who was born in the United Kingdom, killed 22 people and injured another 512.
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