Biological Terrorism in Europe a Possibility

The European Parliament fears that ISIS militants within Europe may have access to biological and chemical weapons. According to the latest report, the Islamic State has chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear experts in their employ as well as the ability to smuggle dangerous substances into Europe. 

“The European Union and its Member States must prepare for the possibility of a chemical or biological attack on their territory by the self-styled ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and the Levant,” reads Parliament’s briefing. “European governments and EU institutions need to be on alert, and should consider publicly addressing the possibility of a terrorist attack using chemical, biological, radiological, or even nuclear materials.” 

The Islamic State’s yearly income is estimated to be about $2.9 billion – with about $40 million each month coming from illegal oil sales. In other words, the terrorist group has more than enough resources to obtain, create, and use “weapons of mass destruction” – or hire someone to do it for them. 

In fact, a Tunisian student was discovered last August to be working with ISIL/Da’esh in Syria. On his laptop was a 19-page document detailing how to create bubonic plague (AKA the Black Death) from infected animals and transform it into a weapon. 

Potential targets for such an attack include sensitive areas and critical infrastructure such as water purification plants, power stations, or chemical factories. Dangerous and threatening substances have successfully been smuggled into Europe before, such as the incident last year in which Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned using radiological materials.  

“We must not rule anything out,” announced French Prime Minister Manuel Valls a few days after the Paris attacks. “I say it with all the precautions needed. But we know and bear in mind that there is also a risk of chemical or bacteriological weapons…terrorism hit France, not because of what it is doing in Iraq and Syria…but for what it is…The macabre imagination of those giving the orders is unlimited. Assault rifles, beheadings, suicide bombers, knives, or all of these at once.”