Months Of Prior Warnings Regarding Terror Attacks Using Trucks

December 20, 2016

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

On December 19, 2016 a Christmas market in Berlin was the target of a terror attack using a truck as a deadly weapon. 12 people were killed and dozens of wounded when the driver plowed through the crowd of bystanders. The Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda have continually incited their followers, specifically Muslims in Europe and the West, to use this tactic to attack non-Muslims. Several reports published by MEMRI in 2016 warned of this specific threat. The method was most recently advocated in the latest issue of the ISIS magazine Rumiyah, published on November 11, 2016, in English, German, French, Urdu and other languages.

Screenshot of an article in the latest ISIS magazine Rumiyah, published on November 11, 2016

Jihadis have been recommending the use of a truck to run over targeted crowds in the west as early as 2010, in the second issue of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) English-language magazine Inspire. This modus operandi, which requires little preparation and no specific skill, has been repeatedly mentioned by jihadi operatives inciting potential terrorists to carry out attacks in the West. Prior to the attack in Nice, France on July 14, 2016, which employed this method, ISIS operatives had repeatedly called for such attacks, emulating the method used many times before by Palestinian terrorists in Israel.

This poster was published on November 29, 2016 by ISIS's French-language media wing. The image in the background shows a truck bearing an ISIS flag driving down Paris's Champs Elysées

The following reports were published by MEMRI in 2016 and address specific threats to use trucks to carry out terror attacks:

Before Attack In Nice, Isis Fighter Calls To Carry Out Lone-Wolf Attacks In France: Go Get A Truck, June 27, 2016.

Nice Attacker Emulated Methods Previously Advocated By ISIS, AQAP, And Other Jihadis, Who Called To Use Vehicles As Weapons To Run Over And 'Mow' People, July 14, 2016.

ISIS French Media Outlet Urges Supporters To Attack With Trucks, Participate In 'Media War', November 29, 2016.

Issue 3 Of Islamic State Magazine 'Rumiyah' Instructs Lone Wolves On Use Of Trucks To Target Outdoor Conventions, Markets, Parades, And Political Rallies, November 10, 2016.

Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Calls For Attacks During Upcoming Holiday Season, December 07, 2016. It should be mentioned that this report includes a specific threat regarding Christmas markets.