EDITORIAL: Savagery of attacks on innocent people

THE sick jihadists who carry out random attacks on innocent people continue to tarnish Muslim people – the vast majority of whom do not condone such actions – and their use of vehicles to do so is very difficult to defend against, as illustrated by the frightening ease with which they were able to kill 13 pedestrians and injure over 130 on the busy tourist thoroughfare, Las Ramblas in Barcelona. The show of solidarity with the victims by locals and visitors alike and the defiant chants of ‘We are not afraid' are admirable, but more needs to be done by the authorities to protect popular pedestrianised areas like Las Ramblas in other cities across Europe, which is feeling the brunt of the terrorists' actions.

Since the current trend of using vehicles to kill and injure people started at Nice in France on July 14th last year, the death toll from it and similar attacks in Berlin, Stockholm, London and now Barcelona has exceeded 130 and hundreds have been injured by these barbaric acts. Add to that the 22 innocent people who were killed, along with a suicide bomber, at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May, with 250 also injured, and it brings home the extent of the threat posed by these secret terror cells of radicalised young men mainly.

When their attacks are successful and impactful, Islamic State claims responsibility for them for  propaganda purposes; they never seem to claim the many attempts that are foiled. Sadly, these attacks can happen anywhere and it is worrying – but in another way re-assuring – that Garda and military intelligence are now said to be keeping tabs on over 70 suspected jihadi sympathisers here, the figure having increased significantly in recent months.

The suspects on the ‘watch list' are from a number of different countries, some legally settled here and others asylum seekers. These are people that this country can well do without.