European governments have moved to their highest levels of alert for years after the attack on a concert hall in Moscow last month by militants from IS that killed at least 140 people.
Within 48 hours, France increased its surveillance and risk warning to the highest level and Italy too ordered enhanced measures. In Germany, officials described an "acute risk".
The attack in Moscow on 22 March, the most lethal Islamist extremist operation in Europe since 2004's Madrid train bombings, was claimed by IS. Officials believe the group has been planning new operations against European targets for several years.
Between 2015 and 2019, when IS ran a so-called caliphate across a swathe of land it controlled across eastern Syria and western Iraq, the group's central leadership had little need of its newly established affiliates to launch operations in Europe as it had all resources to hand with foreign recruits, money and training camps.
This led to a series of lethal attacks in France and Belgium.
However, years of counter-terrorism operations by local security forces, the US and others, have degraded IS in its former strongholds and the group is fragmented and weak.
Western security officials with close knowledge of IS in Iraq and Syria said the group had abandoned its project of rebuilding the so-called caliphate but that successful strikes at international targets were seen as "good for morale and the IS brand, and compensate for failure closer to home".
Recent US-led counter-terrorist operations have killed a number of IS leaders in Syria who were thought to have been planning attacks in Europe.
This story is from the April 05, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 05, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Easter Island Monoliths Face Up To New Climate Extremes
The Ahu Tahai moai, on the east side of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is an impressive 4.5 metres high.
From Bad To Worse How Early Election Backfired On PM
Two days after Rishi Sunak stood in Downing Street to announce an early general election, only for the heavens to open, Tory MPs were still scratching their heads in disbelief.
Secrets Of The World's Most Trusting Country
In Danish society, people feel safe enough to leave their babies and bikes out on the street. How did they get to this point?
Ukraine Can Recover With Bolder Support - But Now It's On The Ropes
The mood in Ukraine is sombre these days.
Stark Warning ICJ Ruling Is Third Blow In A Week For Israel As Isolation Grows
The provisional measures issued by the international court of justice (ICJ) ordering an immediate halt to Israel's military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah represent the starkest warning yet to Israel that its offensive risks creating conditions that could be framed as potentially genocidal.
Why I Took To Cannes' Red Carpet To Call Out Sexual Violence
The 77th Cannes film festival reached its climax on Saturday when all eyes were on the Croisette, as the winners of the prestigious Palme d'Or were announced.
From mains to a sweet treat, how to serve up a thrill from the grill
If you don't have a kamado-style barbecue, what interesting things can you make on a simple grill?
Points of origin
Two takes on Covid's early days-one aimed at academics, the other a 'documentary novel' that mixes fiction and fact to powerful effect
Life after lava
Icelanders are famously hardy, but after a series of volcanic eruptions set houses alight and opened up 20-metre-deep fissures in Grindavík, the fishing town near the famous Blue Lagoon, residents are asking if they'll ever be allowed back home
How Church of England's slavery ties went to top of hierarchy
An archbishop of Canterbury in the 18th century approved payments for the purchase of enslaved people for two sugar plantations in Barbados, documents seen by the Observer have revealed.