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Paris terror attacks
OpinionComment

Paris terrorist attacks underline the need to root out the causes that radicalise youth

Zhou Zunyou says the atrocities highlight the problem of foreign terrorist fighters in our midst, and any lasting solution must include efforts to fully integrate at-risk communities into society

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Identified as the suspected mastermind behind the Paris attacks that killed 130 people, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of Islamic State's most high-profile European recruits, died during a gun battle with French police commandos several days after the deadly attacks. Pictured in an undated photograph published in the Islamic State's online magazine Dabiq and posted on a social media website. REUTERS/Social Media Website via Reuters TVATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. IT IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. SEARCH "NEWSMAKERS� FOR ALL 20 IMAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Zhou Zunyou
The suspected mastermind behind the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, pictured here in an undated photo taken from an Islamic State website, was one of Islamic State's most high-profile European recruits. He died during a gun battle with French police several days after the deadly attacks. Photo: Reuters
The suspected mastermind behind the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, pictured here in an undated photo taken from an Islamic State website, was one of Islamic State's most high-profile European recruits. He died during a gun battle with French police several days after the deadly attacks. Photo: Reuters
Shortly after the terrorist attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead, French President François Hollande blamed Islamic State for the carnage. The group in turn claimed responsibility for the attacks as retribution for France’s involvement in the air strikes on IS militants in Syria and Iraq.

READ MORE: Coverage of the Paris terrorist attacks

So far, four of the seven suicide attackers have been identified as French nationals. Three of the four are believed to have spent time in Syria and Iraq. The Paris attacks heighten French concerns about the grave threat posed by radicalised French Muslims who have returned home after receiving terrorist training abroad.

France is particularly vulnerable to terrorist activities carried out by its own citizens; it has the biggest contingent of European fighters in the Syria and Iraq conflict zone

The slaughter in Paris caused shock, but not surprise. In January, terrorists targeted the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish grocery store; two of the three perpetrators were returning fighters with ties to al-Qaeda and IS.

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France is particularly vulnerable to terrorist activities carried out by its own citizens; as home to Europe’s largest Muslim population, numbering some five million, it has the biggest contingent of European fighters in the Syria and Iraq conflict zone. According to French authorities’ most recent estimates, as many as 2,000 French nationals have been implicated in jihadist networks. Moreover, 571 French citizens are fighting for Islamic State or other terrorist groups, 141 have died there, and 246 have returned home.

A woman stands at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the deadly attacks in Paris. The bloodbath challenged the effectiveness of the French counterterrorism apparatus. Photo: AFP
A woman stands at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the deadly attacks in Paris. The bloodbath challenged the effectiveness of the French counterterrorism apparatus. Photo: AFP
The bloodbath in Paris challenged the effectiveness of the French counterterrorism apparatus, which has moved aggressively, especially in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, to use its broad powers to seize passports of individuals suspected of planning terrorism-related travel to the Middle East.

France is not the only country with “foreign terrorist fighters”, that is, those lured to travel overseas to terrorist safe havens for the purpose of committing terrorist acts or receiving training. Rather, the whole world is on full alert for the phenomenon. Since 2011, an increasing number of radicalised young Muslims from many countries have been flocking to Syria and Iraq. Despite strenuous international efforts, the trend continues. According to a recent US congressional report, by September, more than 25,000 militants from over 100 countries had become foreign fighters with Islamic State and other Islamist groups.

READ MORE: Southeast Asia must deal with flow of terrorist recruits to Islamic State

A Uygur man looks on as a truck carrying paramilitary policemen passes during an anti-terrorism rally in Urumqi, Xinjiang, in May last year. Photo: Reuters
A Uygur man looks on as a truck carrying paramilitary policemen passes during an anti-terrorism rally in Urumqi, Xinjiang, in May last year. Photo: Reuters
In the wake of the Paris bloodshed, President Xi Jinping (習近平) immediately condemned the barbaric action. China’s police chief Guo Shengkun (郭聲琨) also ordered the country’s counterterrorism agencies to boost preparedness against potential terrorist violence. The vigilance is necessary, given that China is in Islamic State’s cross hairs. In July 2014, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on his followers to mount revenge attacks on China and other countries. Meanwhile, Islamic State released a map of territories it planned to occupy, which appeared to include a large portion of Xinjiang (新疆), home of Uygur Muslims.

READ MORE: Chinese forces kill 28 ‘terrorists’ blamed for deadly Xinjiang coal mine attack

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