After a string of recent cases in Europe and across the world, ‘lone wolf’ attacks have been identified as one of the most worrying terrorism trends today. <br /> <br />Is Europe safe from lone wolf terrorism? Our focus in this edition of On The Frontline.<br /> <br />Terror attacks in Europe<br /> <br />Last year, an estimated 12,500 people died as a result of terror attacks carried out by extremists groups.<br /> <br />But the massacre of 77 people in Norway last year by gunman Anders Behring Breivik highlighted the threat of ‘lone wolf’ terrorism.<br /> <br />Alain Bauer, a criminology researcher, describes a lone wolves as “isolated individuals, that engage themselves alone, without any command or logistical support.”<br /> <br />Behring said he wanted to stop the spread of Islam across Europe and opposed what he saw as Norway’s lax, pro-multicultural immigration policies.<br /> <br />But he prepared to kill without any assistance from extremist groups, planning the attack for years alone.<br /> <br />Bauer says this is strategy that recognised militant groups may look to emulate.<br /> <br />“They are relatively effective because they have a certain time, they don’t leave too many traces and they oblige authorities to use a huge amount of investigation resources. Also, above all, the lack of connection with the exterior makes much harder for intelligence and investigation services to identify them,” he told euronews.<br /> <br />Guido Steinberg, a terrorism expert with the German Institute For International and Security Affair, argues that Breivik could serve “as a model” for other extremists.<br /> <br />“He was a lot more successful than Al-Qaeda, and most of its attack or attempts to attack in Europe in years,” he said.
