The Islamic State creates a new type of jihadist: Part terrorist, part gangster
BRUSSELS — The recent terrorist
attacks in Paris have brought into sharper focus the rise of a new breed
of jihadists, one that blurs the line between organized crime and
Islamist extremism, using skills honed in lawbreaking in the service of
violent radicalism.
The Islamic State is constructing an army of
loyalists from Europe that includes an increasing number of street
toughs and ex-cons as the nature of radicalization evolves in the era of
its self-proclaimed caliphate. Rather than leave behind lives of crime,
some adherents are using their illicit talents to finance recruiting
rings and travel costs for foreign fighters even as their backgrounds
give them potentially easier access to cash and weapons, posing a new
kind of challenge to European authorities.
Members of the terror network put together
in Paris by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, shown in a photo from an Islamic State
magazine, shared his criminal past. (Dabiq Magazine via AP)
