European leaders and security chiefs had a sobering message after the Bastille Day killings in Nice: such lone attacks using ordinary vehicles are nearly impossible to prevent and can be carried out by almost anyone.
“We have moved into a new era,” said Prime Minister Manuel Valls. “And France will have to live with terrorism.”
His Belgian counterpart, Charles Michel said in Brussels, where ISIS militants staged attacks in March and had planned last November’s Paris attacks, that “zero risk does not exist.”
A local, 31-year-old, Tunisian-born Frenchman drove the rented heavy truck for 2 km along the palm-fringed Promenade des Anglais seafront, which was closed to traffic and thronged with thousands of revellers watching fireworks.
That the attacker could run over and kill 84 people reflects not only the surprise, the density of the crowds and the lethal weight and speed of the vehicle, creating a far deadlier impact than many similar ramming attacks.
It also speaks to a lack of barriers on the road and the limited firepower of the police on duty.
Some 25 bullet holes spattered the windshield of the truck, standing where it stopped and the driver was shot dead. The glass had not shattered because police officers were armed with standard issue pistols rather than the high-power automatic rifles carried by troops and sued by some police during emergencies.
Two years ago, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohamed al-Adnani released an audio recording calling on the group’s supporters to kill “any infidel, French, American, or any of their allies” and recommending they use simple methods, including vehicles.
He said that given the difficulties of detecting such attacks in advance or stopping them once they start, societies must work to prevent the radicalisation of young Europeans and attack the Islamists who urge them to act from bases abroad.
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