Other targets have included:
- London
- Madrid
- Bali
- Morocco
- Egypt
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
- Turkey
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- America
As well as the suicide bombings they have used methods like torture and abduction with ransom and beheading of their captives. Such as Kenneth Bigely who was beheaded before the world on October 7th 2004.
Other Organisations in recent years that have posed a threat to the UK and its interests at Home and abroad are the IRA who targeted the British Troops who occupied Northern Ireland, to start with the IRA mainly engaged troops with firearms using ambushes but these were proving to be costly because of the British’s extensive firepower, so over time bombs were developed, and civilian targets were also more and more used to put their point over, such as the Armagh bombings, also the IRA made attempts to assassinate key members of the British establishment such as Margaret Thatcher, one of their successful attempts were the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, The IRA planted a bomb on his yacht which was harboured in Ireland, and when It was detonated Mountbatten went down with his ship.
Other terrorist groups include Black September who conducted the bombings and abduction of Israeli competitors at the Summer Olympics in Munich in 1972. The Palestinian group ended up killed all eleven Israeli athletes in a botched attempt to save them by German Officials.
This Massacre led to the creation of Special Counter Terrorist Units around the globe whose purpose was to deal with this new threat.
Types of Counter-terrorist measures used to combat terrorism
To combat terrorism the modern world has had to improvise and devise new techniques or adapt existing ways because of the ever changing mind of terrorists.
After the Munich Massacre the Development of Special Operations Units whose sole purpose to tackle terrorist incidents with force and precision was created with such groups as the SAS counter terrorism unit and armed police units such as SO19, the French GIGN, the German GSG9 and the USA’s SWAT.
Although some of these units have other responsibilities through service their when dealing with terrorists is quickly, cleanly and efficiently neutralising a terrorist damage with little or no damage to anything else such as hostages and international relations. To prevent terrorist atrocities the governments of today try to make sure that their police forces and security forces are gathering information on terror suspects via surveillance and interrogation of arrested suspects. The UK’s SIS and GCHQ mainly deal with these issues.
As shown in the wake of the 9/11 attacks there can also be an overseas offensive approach to tackling terrorism, an example of this would be at the very beginning of the War on Terror the American and British Navy’s and Air Forces used precision munitions drop by planes and fired by ships to damage and destroy Al-Qaeda terrorist training camps in the areas of Northern Pakistan and Southern Afghanistan.
This was in an attempt to flush out leader of Al – Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden who was believed to be hiding within a network of tunnels, but to also weaken the apparent strike capability of the terrorist group.
While other attempts at home include holding terror suspects for periods of time while under questioning within police stations while search warrants are carried out on their homes.
Alongside armed response home and abroad many other methods can be used to combat terrorism. The first one is freezing financial assets, terrorism relies on funds being available for terrorists to use to sponsor their activities but if their funds are frozen by their governments then their activity will decrease. A second method is hearts and minds, a term that has become attached to the Middle Eastern War on Terror, this involves engaging with people and offering them something better that will support them better than participating in terrorist activity, an example of this is in Afghanistan where the USAF forces are helping the Afghan people to build their economy, public services and infrastructure, which the previous rulers, the Taliban, didn’t.
The Effectiveness of the Counter Terrorist units
The effectiveness of these units all over the world has been proved time and time again with CT teams resolving situations with the tactics they have learnt and know through and through, one of these more famous operations is Operation Nimrod which was undertaken by our own 22nd Special Air Service, on May 5th 1980 a troop of SAS troopers who specialised in Counter Terrorism and Close Quarter Battle stormed the Iranian embassy, this happened after a hostage was executed by the Terrorists and the order, direct from the PM Margaret Thatcher, for the SAS to move in was given, during the raid five of the six terrorists were killed and 19 of the 20 remaining hostages were rescued, this put the SAS in the limelight due to their skill, precision and ruthlessness in the dealing with of the situation and made clear how necessary it was to have highly skilled, highly motivated Counter Terrorism Units.
Referral Work
Methods used by Terrorists
Bombings
Bombings are a very indiscriminate way of attacking and killing people and they cause high amounts of damage to anything or anyone unlucky enough to be in the blast zone and around any collapsible subjects. Bombs can be easily concealed as shown on the 7/7 attacks within a rucksack. They can also be planted on the side of roads concealed in bins or under any sort of camouflage which could be rubble or road kill. There is also the threat from Vehicle Born Improvised Explosives (VBIED) these can contain Artillery shells placed into the back of any Vehicle. Bombings can be carried out on any type of target and in the past buildings; ships and planes have been targeted.
To combat these threats the Army use checkpoints on roads to check cars and their contents before letting them through. They would also train the soldiers to be more vigilant to spot anything that may look out of place on the roadsides or surrounding areas. Also intelligence services can monitor individual’s activities and who they interact with to gather clues.
Hijackings
A hijacked Vehicle such as a bus, train or aeroplanes, can be a very useful asset to a Terrorist organisation, they can ransom the hostages to gain either political recognition or the release of prisoners or any other demands they may choose to make.
These are very dangerous terrorist methods because if the plane heads off course there could only be one way to resolve the situation without the death of civilians on the ground and that would be to shoot the plane out of the sky. To stop potential Skyjackings the cockpit doors on planes have been reinforced and some companies have been placing flight stewards on to thwart any terrorist attempts at hijacking the plane. Baggage checks and restriction of certain items on flights has also been stepped up to prevent any terrorist hijackings.
Assassinations
These are attacks on a specific individual or group of individuals with the aim of killing them, the by any appropriate ways of means.
Recently a candidate for the Pakistan elections Benazir Bhutto was killed while on a parade surrounded by sympathisers and supporters. Before this the IRA attempted to kill Margaret Thatcher while she was in a Hotel in Brighton. Before the start of the Great War Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated while travelling with his wife, this then later lead to the start of the First World War.
To combat these types of attacks security forces are employed to protect officials and to watch over the area while they move through it.
Also surveillance is used to watch the movements of extremists who oppose the certain VIP. The best thing to do is put all involved on a heightened state of vigilance and alert.
Suicide Attacks
These attacks have been most common in the Middle East with Muslim extremists targeting other Muslim faiths or with VBIED’s at vehicle checkpoints. Al – Qaeda have used this type of Attack against the U.S on September the 11th 2001 and the UK on 7th July 2007. They have also attacked Spain, Egypt and Bali with these methods. The explosives can be contained within a rucksack like on the 7/7 attacks or on an explosive rig strapped to their chest.
To combat this type of attack is difficult as the perpetrators look like any other person but have explosives attached to them, they can strike any place anytime. The security organisations around the world have had to increase surveillance on terror suspects. They know have more stringent checks at security points at airports.
The can monitor these individuals by monitoring their movements, phone calls, finances and interaction with certain groups, if an individual is suspected of terrorism then things like the freezing of finances can be put into place to prevent them taking action. They can also be arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 and questioned on their activities.
