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handle is hein.crs/govecdo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: t~ssicm5I ftesesrch Service Inlcffrnrno tho I 4~Jati~e debate am ~e 1914 Updated February 10,2021 Terrorism in Europe Current Trends European governments and the European Union (EU)have grappled with domestic and foreign terrorist groups for decades, but numerous attacks since 2014 have renewed concerns about terrorismand violentextremismin Europe. Despite variances in how terrorist events are defined and tracked, studies indicate that terrorismposes a security threat in many European countries (see datafromEuropol, the EU's agency for police cooperation, in Figure 1). European countries and the EU are key U.S. partners in the fight againstterrorism, and Members of Congress may be interested in European counterterrorismefforts. Figure 1. Terrorism-Related Attacks in the EU (includes failed, foiled, and completed attacks) # of Attacks Deaths Injuries Arrests 2014 '7 4 6 774 2015 2 151 350+ 1,077 2016 142 379 1,002 2017 268 844 1,219 2018 9 13 53 1,056 2019 19 10 27 1,004 Source: Eu ropol's Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) publications,2015-2020. Data include statistics fromthe United Kingdom(UK),which withdrewfromthe EU injanuary2020. Of primary concern to Europe is violent Islamist terrorism. Such attacks, classified by Europol as religious or jihadist in motivation, have been much more lethal than othertypesofterrorism, accounting fornearly all recent fatalities andcasualties (see Figure2). Most jihadist attacks in Europe since 2014 have been linked to or motivated by the Islamic State organization (IS, also known as ISIS orISIL). Despite the group's territorial defeat in Syria and Iraq, it maintains a low-level insurgency in both countries and continues to inspire followers in Europe. Concerns also persis t about Al Qaeda and its affiliates, which remain committed to carrying out or inspiring attacks on European and other Western targets. Arrests connected to jihadist terrorismtypically account for the largestnunber of terrorism-related arrests; 436 out of 1,004 terrorism arrests reported to Europ ol in 2019 were jihadis t related. Other types of terrorists also are active in Europe. Nationalist/separatist attacks consistently representthe larges t proportion of allterroris t incidents. In 2019, all nationalist/separatist attacks except one were related to dissident republican groups in Northern Ireland. Mostleft- wing/anarchist attacks occur in Italy, Greece, and Spain. Security services warn aboutright -wing extremis mamid what some view as heightened anti-immigrant and xenophobic sentiments throughout Europe. Some attacks by right-wing extremists may be classified as hate crimes or other offenses rather than terrorism. In 2016, a far-right, anti-immigrant extremist killed a member of the UK Parliament. In Germany in 2019, a right-wing extremist murdered a local politician in June and another killed two people in an October incident that included an attempted attack on a synagogue during YomKippur. In France and Germany, authorities have disrupted several far-right plots against Muslims or foreigners over thelast few years. Figure 2.Terrorist Attacks and Fatalities by Type # of Attacks #4 Deathsi 2014 67 65 2015 6 2016 2017 2 Religious/ Aihadist *Nationalist/' Separatist 0._eft-Wing/ Anarchist 99(6) U Right-Wing Extremist 137 83 2018 2019 57 Source: Europol's TE-SAT publications,2015-2020. Data includethe UK; single-issue and non-specified attacks are excluded. European officials also remain alert to threats fromanti- Israel groups, such as Hezbollah.No attacks in Europe have been attributed to Hezbollah since a 2012 bombing in Bulgaria, but the group reportedly uses Europe as a support and fundraising base. Some European authorities express alarm about alleged state-sponsored Iranian terrorist acts, including a thwarted 2018 bombing plot in France and two murders in the Netherlands in 2015 and 2017. The Islamic State and Europe Following the Islamic State's expansion to Syria in 2013, concerns grew about the group's ties to Europe. From2011 to 2015, roughly 5,000 European citizens traveled to Syria or Iraq to become foreign fighters. Several perpetratois of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France (which killed 130 people) and the March2016 bombings in Brussels, Belgium(in which 32 died) were European citizens who had trained and/or fought with the Islamic State in Syria and/or Iraq. In these and other terrorist incidents in 2015 and 2016, the Islamic State may have provided remote support and guidance. https://crs reports.congress.gov

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