Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1258433
Germany for instance, were encour- aging their followers to go through military service. In the current con- text, a scenario as such is less prob- able. The progress made within the scope of data gathering makes meth- ods like that less attractive. How to Survive in the West handbook dis- courages the reader from paintball events, given the risk of uncovering his/her true intentions. The handbook states it directly that the organizers of the events record data of the Mus- lims involved in the paintball games, reporting these to the authorities afterward. This may be viewed as a symptom of conspiracy paranoia, typ- ical for the radicals. The fact is that in the contemporary setting, training as such, unless covert, can lead to the discovery of the actual intentions. The fact is though, that attacks in- volving firearms would still be hap- pening in the future. As shown by the cases we could have witnessed so far, even a poorly trained attacker who surprises the victim, knows the area, and targets a sensitive victim, can create some serious damage. Las Vegas tragedy is an extreme example, without a terrorist background. A de - termined criminal armed to teeth (22 rifles) caused, directly or indirectly injuries or death of approx. 900 per- sons. Hostage situations would be a rarity, most probably, in the future, with the attacker trying to negotiate some demands. Situations as such usually lead to the employment of a specialized counter-terrorist unit. The terrorist is well aware of that. The most probable scenario of such an attack in Europe would involve a single terrorist or, in a scenario that would be more pessimistic, a group of two to four persons. The worst- case scenario could involve several groups as such, all armed with pis - tols or semi-automatic or automatic rifles, possibly shotguns or machine pistols. Up until now, the perpetra- tors have been using accessories such as holographic sights or tactical flashlights to a limited extent. How- ever, they may take steps to use, or at least own, equipment as such. It is also plausible that if inflicting seri- ous damage is planned, along with a police confrontation, the terrorists will be eager to procure high quanti- ties of ammunition, or even grenades or explosives. Those willing to create maximum damage could also use the attacks that happened in the past, as an inspiration. The possible soft targets include plac- es of large gatherings of people, such as shopping malls, concert halls, tem- ples, or public transport, alongside offices or official institutions. One should take into the equation the fact that protected facilities could also be attacked. An average employee of shopping mall security is not trained or equipped properly, to respond to a terrorist attack. Furthermore, the perpetrators, if more than one person is involved and if cooperation between them is established, would be a difficult adversary to neutralize. One shall also remember that in the past the terrorists only wanted the media to disseminate the information on the act. Currently, recording the acts of terror is insufficient - in case of some events, the perpetrator even conducted a live stream. The goal here reaches beyond the domain of killing then, the terrorists want the incidents to last as long as possible so that it gains the attention of the media. So, hostage situations may emerge not to force action, but to lead to a spectacular execution. The terrorists may also move within a sin - gle target facility, or between several facilities as such. It is quite easy to indicate some locations where a large shopping mall is located alongside/ has been integrated with a train sta- tion or a whole communication node. Furthermore, facilities as such are usually located in city centers which means that the terrorists could at- tack some other facility simultane- ously - hotel, restaurant, church, university. What's even more wor- rying, apart from the fatalities, one shall remember that some persons would be injured, be it by the shots, fragmentation or when running away. Many persons would be hiding in the attacked building, waiting for help to come. One should also take paralysis of the city center into the account. Obviously, the question concerning www.fragoutmag.com