Why savages turn to using killer vehicles
TERRORISTS HAVE long embraced vehicles as weapons of war, but in the past decade or so the preferred target has switched from symbolic buildings to crowds of innocent people.
So-called “vehicle-ramming attacks” are a particular favorite of Islamic State terrorists — who aim to enact maximum carnage in the most public way possible.
The deadly tactic has become more common, in part, because tighter global security measures make other mass-casualty attacks — like suicide bombings — more difficult.
Ramming a vehicle through a crowd of people requires little skill and can potentially cause widespread and catastrophic injuries.
In May, ISIS published a tutorial in its Rumiyah propaganda magazine to show would-be jihadists how to rent or steal “the ideal vehicle” for a ramming attack.
At a Tuesday press conference detailing the horror of the deadly attack in lower Manhattan, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of intelligence & counterterrorism said ISIS published a similar article two years ago that specifically encouraged car attacks and mentioned the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Since then, the NYPD has visited 148 local truck rental locations, paying specific attention to U-Haul, Ryder and Home Depot, to urge them to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior among potential renters, Deputy Commissioner John Miller said.
“The industry has had a high level of awareness on this matter with the NYPD,” he noted.
Some of the deadliest recent ramming attacks include:
Barcelona, Aug. 17: Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, plowed a van into La Rambla in the Spanish city, killing 13 people and injuring at least 130 others, one of whom died 10 days later. Nine hours later, five members of the same terrorist cell drove into pedestrians in nearby Cambrils, killing one woman and injuring six others.
London, June 3: A van plowed into pedestrians on London Bridge, and its three occupants then ran through the streets stabbing people in a terrorist attack. Eight people were killed and 48 injured. It came a month after five people were killed in a similar attack in Westminster.
Stockholm. April 7: A hijacked truck was deliberately driven into crowds in Sweden’s capital city, killing five and injuring 14 others.
London, March 22: Khalid Masood, 52, rammed a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four and injuring 50.
Berlin, Dec. 19, 2016: Twelve people died when an ISIS follower rammed a vehicle into a Christmas market in Germany, injuring 56.
Nice, July 14, 2016: A jihadist crashed a massive truck into Bastille Day crowds in France, killing 86 and injuring 458.