Individual Jihadist Terrorism. An Analysis of Selected Examples of Jihadist Terrorist Activity in the European Union

This article analyzes a relatively new form of Islamic terrorist engagement in asymmetric warfare against the West. The main manifestation of this activity is so-called individual Jihadist terrorism. It differs tactically from the classic tactics used by so-called individual terrorists. Individual jihadist terrorism involves the involvement of individuals (rarely small groups of jihadists) in terrorist activity carried out on behalf of, and most often through, indirect support (rarely operational, often propaganda and media) of, the existing network structure of the jihadist movement. The key characteristics of this phenomenon were identified based on a detailed analysis of terrorist attacks carried out in selected European Union countries: France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.