‘NZ should take note of tactic’

Unsophisticated terrorists are unpredictable and make it harder for governments to detect and foil attacks, a New Zealand terror specialist says.

Massey University teaching fellow John Battersby said the problem for intelligence agencies was that the attacker ‘‘only does it once, and with technology that is readily available’’.

‘‘What we have just seen in London is an example of this leaderless type of terror attack, with a low level of logistical planning,’’ said Battersby.

‘‘It is quite different to the highly co-ordinated attacks, and it is hard for intel agencies to predict them, even if a suspect is on a watchlist.’’

While Battersby believed New Zealand has been ‘‘remarkably resilient to terrorism over the past 15 years’’, he said agencies should still be aware the threat this type of attack brought. ‘‘We need to think about the fact there is a certain tactic which is becoming a preferred method to deliver terror. As it was in Nice and Berlin, the technology used is unsophisticated and you may not see it coming.’’