EUROPEAN SECURITY officials responded to the Breivik killings in Norway with a call for a deeper examination of “lone wolf” terrorism by activists with no clear link with any organisation.
At a special meeting in Brussels to discuss the fallout from the twin attacks in Oslo and Utoeya island, officials also assessed the threat of a copycat attack.
Anders Behring Breivik, a 32- year-old far-right extremist, has confessed to killing 76 people in bomb and gun attacks last Friday. Investigators in Norway are working on the theory he planned and carried out the massacre on his own.
Norwegian officials briefed counter-terrorism experts from EU member states at the Brussels meeting, which was organised by Poland’s rotating EU presidency.
“One major risk is that somebody may clearly try to mount a similar attack as a copycat attack or as a way of showing support,” said Tim Jones, a senior adviser in the office of the EU counterterrorism co-ordinator.
“It will depend how that attack is planned and where it takes place whether it’s detectable or not. It’s clearly a possibility,” he told reporters.
European security experts are examining whether new restrictions should be imposed on the sale of arms and explosive precursors such as fertiliser.
They also want to improve the exchange of information between counter-terrorism forces. Mr Jones said “nothing is ever perfect” when asked whether European intelligence services co-operated enough.
As they try to learn lessons from the attacks, officials have noted how Breivik sought to deflect attention from himself by leasing a farm before buying a large consignment of fertiliser.
They have also noted how he did not give full expression to his extremist views when publishing on the internet. This helped him avoid detection while he set about planning the attacks.
Mr Jones said officials recognised the threat from far-right extremists but said nobody expected anything of the size of the Norwegian attacks.
“The scale of the attacks and the sheer unexpected nature of them is such that there is no other possible reaction than just complete shock.” Asked whether the attacks were impossible to avoid, he said: “Until the inquiry reports we don’t know but that would seem to be entirely reasonable to suppose that, yes.”
Mr Jones said it was clear that Breivik had been in contact with other people, but it was a matter for the investigation to determine the “real nature” of such contacts, how close they were and whether others had any involvement in planning the attacks.
In a communiqué issued after their meeting, the EU officials said: “The issue of ‘lone wolf terrorism’, represented by terrorists that are self-radicalised (eg, through the internet) with no obvious attachment to any terrorist organisation, seems to require increasing attention.” They continued: “Particular attention was given to the processes of radicalisation and recruitment which usually depend on a variety of factors independent of the cause which any terrorist seeks to promote, whether the ideology of al-Qaeda, the far right or any other extreme ideology.”
To prevent any repeat of the attacks, Mr Jones said security officials needed to learn about what motivates people who develop extreme political views to translate them into violence.
“The answer eventually will be that you need a multi-layered approach,” he said.
“There will never be a single magic bullet that will stop everything. There will always be a variety of measures which the police and security authorities need to take and putting that mosaic together in the best way possible.
“Analysing what groups are saying on the internet is likely to be part of that and analysing other behaviours.
“Looking at people’s travel patterns, all sorts of factors like that, suspicious financial transactions involving explosives precursors, all these kinds of things. There won’t be any one magic measure that will stop that whole thing.”