Europol is “extremely concerned” about possible ISIS terrorist attacks at the UEFA soccer tournament being held in Paris this June, according to a report from Reuters. Rob Wainwright, head of Europol, expressed his concerns to German newspaper Die Welt.
“It is shockingly easy to attack soft targets like cafes, restaurants or a concert hall. I am extremely concerned about the upcoming European soccer championship. It is an attractive target for terrorists.”
According to the Express, Mohamed Abrini, a member of the ISIS terrorist cell that orchestrated the attacks on Paris and Brussels, told police after his arrest that UEFA 2016 is a major target for ISIS jihadists. According to police sources, Abrini told them that a major terrorist attack on UEFA had already been planned at the time of his arrest in April.
“If the Abrini statements are correct, it just confirms the fact that Belgium is an operational base that needs to be watched even more intensely. Jihadi networks and cells have been meeting there for at least 10 years.”
The Paris terrorist attacks last November claimed over 130 lives. [Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images]
Abrini, a Belgian-Moroccan national, was one of six people arrested in connection with the Brussels attacks and was also wanted in connection to the Paris attack last November. Multiple pieces of evidence linked him to both attacks, and his statements have authorities across Europe concerned, including French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
“It’s extra proof of the very high threats to the whole of Europe and to France in particular. We will not let our guard down.”
France announced last month that it plans to extend the state of emergency that was declared in the wake of the Paris attacks by two months, in order to help maintain security throughout the Euro 2016 soccer tournament – an event that is expected to draw 2.5 million spectators.
Euro 2016 starts on June 10 and runs for an entire month. 51 soccer matches will be played between 24 teams, in 10 different stadiums across France. Additionally, “fan zones” have been arranged across France’s major cities for crowds to watch the games on television.
Several of Abrini’s alleged co-conspirators were arrested in Germany, having successfully fled from police in France and Belgium. [Photo by Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images]It’s not going to be an easy event to secure, and Wainwright stressed that additional security measures and more counterterrorism personnel and equipment were “absolutely necessary.”
“We need police units that can respond to attack scenarios and hostage situations like those seen in the Bataclan concert hall in Paris.”
It’s a statement that’s hard to question, as one month ago, an ISIS attack on a Real Madrid supporters club in Iraq claimed the lives of 16 fans. According to the Independent, the terrorists stormed a meeting of 50 fans with AK-47 assault rifles, killing 16 and leaving 20 more injured, some severely. Club president Ziad Subhan said that “They [ISIS] don’t like football, they think it’s anti-Muslim. They just carry out attacks like this. This is a terrible tragedy.”
Real Madrid released a statement condemning the attack, and team members wore black armbands during their next game. But the damage was already done.
“Real Madrid C. F. deeply regrets the terrible attack in Iraq which today saw 16 members of a Real Madrid supporters club lose their lives and which has also left over 20 injured. The club expresses its great sadness and offers its regards and condolences to the families and friends of the victims. Real Madrid extends all of its solidarity to the people of Iraq, who suffer the excessive injustices of extreme violence.”
“The Real Madrid players will tomorrow wear symbolic black armbands as a sign of their mourning and respect. Football and sport shall always be spaces in which to come together and in which harmony and peace reign and with which no form of barbaric terrorism will be able to compete. Today Madridismo across the whole world cries for its supporters, who shall never be forgotten.”
If ISIS do consider soccer to be “anti-Muslim,” one can only imagine that 2.5 million fans gathering in France must present a tempting target to the Islamic State jihadists; and if Mohamed Abrini’s information can be trusted, ISIS terrorists have every intention of capitalizing on it.
Hopefully, France and Europol will be able to prevent any attacks before more harm is done.
[Photo by Adam Pretty/Bongarts/Getty Images]
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