Home-grown or lone wolf terrorists are a threat to all
"Home-grown" or "lone wolf" terrorists have lately become a topical issue of interest in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13 which left 129 people dead and hundreds more injured.
Some of the terrorists were found to be French citizens.
Home-grown terrorists are now defined to also include citizens of countries who joined the jihad with the ISIS or IS in Syria or Iraq and later returned to their native countries. Many of them are westerners who have been influenced by Islamic extremism whereas in Southeast Asia, several young Islamic radicals from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have reportedly joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Lone wolf terrorist is defined as someone who commits violent acts in support of some group, movement or ideology but who acts alone, outside of any command structure and without material assistance from any group. Although the lone wolf prepares, and acts alone, he/she maybe influenced or motivated by the ideology and beliefs of an external group.
The Boston marathon attack in 2013 by two American brothers and the gun attack and hostage seizure at a café in Sydney by one Australian, for examples, were described as acts of violence by lone wolves.
Some security specialists even suggested that the August 17 bombing at the Erawan Shrine which left over 20 people dead and dozens injured could be perpetrated by lone wolves.
The danger of lone wolf or home-grown terrorists is that these people are willing to die with their victims and, hence, it is very difficult to prevent terrorism acts from these terrorists.
Dr Saravuth Aree, deputy director of Islamic Studies Centre of Asian Studies Institute of Chulalongkorn University, painted a picture of home-grown terrorists in France in the aftermath of the November 13 attacks in Paris.
He said that since France used to have many colonies in Africa and the Middle East, many Muslim migrants or refugees from these former colonies have settled in France since the colonial days. But many of their children born in France feel they are discriminated and alienated by the society economically and socially.
The Isis jihadists from western countries, including France, are similar to the jihad fighters in Afghanistan, when they returned to their home countries, they brought with them the hatred against their governments for waging war in Syria and have the tendency to commit violent acts against their own countries and peoples, said Dr Saravuth.
A high-ranking security official called the lone wolf and home-grown terrorists an “unknown threat” because they could hardly be monitored, detected or prevented because they normally acted alone.
As far as Thailand is concerned, there has been no report of the existence of lone wolf terrorists. Nevertheless, this does not mean that these terrorists can be completely ruled out.
The security official warned that a government’s decision to send troops to join the fight against terrorism in the Middle East may give rise to lone wolf terrorists at home.
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Note : The image taken from internet and was decorated by Isra News Center