There was a significant decrease in terrorist attacks in the EU between 2023 and 2024. Young men are being the most targeted in recruitment for these offences.
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A total of 58 terrorist attacks were reported by 14 member states in 2024. This marks a halving compared to 2023, when 120 attacks were reported, according to the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol.
Italy and France recorded the most attacks, with 20 and 14 incidents, respectively.
This was followed by Germany, with six recorded attacks, and Austria and Greece, both with three incidents.
Almost half of the terrorist attacks in the EU were attributed to jihadist terrorism, which marks a significant increase from 2023.
This type of attack caused the highest number of casualties, with five people killed and 18 injured.
Overall, most of the attacks targeted civilians, while the industrial sector was the second-most targeted.
The majority of attacks took place in an urban location (45), while 13 were perpetrated in rural areas.
A total of 449 people were arrested for terrorism-related offences across 20 member states, an increase compared to 2023 (426) and 2022 (380).
The majority of arrests were carried out in Spain, France, Italy, and Germany.
The majority (405) of arrested suspects were male, while 43 were female.
Are young people being targeted?
The number of minors and young people involved in terrorist and violent extremist activities continued to grow across the EU in 2024, according to the Europol report.
Almost one-third of the total number of suspects arrested for terrorism-related offences were aged between 12 and 20 years old.
The youngest arrestee, charged with planning or preparing an attack, was 12 years old and was ascribed to right-wing ideology.
The vast majority of these young suspects were linked to jihadist terrorism, followed by right-wing terrorism and violent extremism.
Europol also reported a surge in the amount of terrorist and violent extremist propaganda on digital platforms.
These young perpetrators were predominantly male. Only 12 out of 133 were female.
"They most often underwent a process of self-radicalisation online and were acting dissociated to any centralised organisation, often alone or within small cells of peers," the report stated.
The combination of psychological vulnerabilities, social isolation and digital dependency continues to be instrumental in the radicalisation of young people.