A van plowed into a crowd in Las Ramblas. Witnesses saw it swerve to hit as many as possible. Authorities label it terrorism.
#Barcelona
2/x
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#ISIS claimed responsibility, but current evidence indicates a self-starter attack, rather than a professional operation.#Barcelona 3/x -
Vehicle attacks (Nice, Berlin, Westminster,
#Charlottesville) are often individuals inspired by, rather than sent by groups.#Barcelona 4/x -
By contrast, professional operatives, trained and deployed by terrorist groups, often coordinate assaults, like Paris 2015.
#Barcelona 5/x -
Explosives are another sign that an attacker is a pro, or at least linked to some, like Brussels or Manchester.
#Barcelona 6/x -
But not always. Boston Marathon attackers were self-starters, and built their own bombs using information found online.
#Barcelona 7/x -
#ISIS claimed#Barcelona attacker "carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting coalition states." 8/x -
That further suggests self-starter.
#ISIS has tried to inspire sympathizers to launch their own attacks.#BarcelonaTerrorAttack 9/x -
Pros can be tracked as they travel or communicate online, but self-starters (eg San Bernardino) are very hard to anticipate.
#Barcelona 10/x -
Self-starters usually do less damage (130 dead in Paris), but as the
#BarcelonaTerrorAttack shows, they're still pretty devastating. 11/x -
However, it's still early, and it's possible others were involved. Also, the driver is still at large.
#Barcelona 12/x -
Authorities suspect an explosion in Alcanar (about 100km from
#Barcelona) may be linked.#BarcelonaTerroristAttack 13/xpic.twitter.com/ISEKTosL3K
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But they found 20 gas canisters, which is hardly a sophisticated explosive. If linked, it supports self-starter theory.
#Barcelona 14/x -
Who did it and how linked they were to
#ISIS will become clearer. But this we know: vehicle attacks are very hard to stop.#Barcelona 15/x -
My analysis of the Westminster vehicle attack (March 2016) applies to the
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack as well. https://arcdigital.media/5-thoughts-on-the-westminster-attack-aeb29d4f9d85 … 16/x -
Vehicles will drive near pedestrians in cities. No way around it, and we wouldn't want to stop normal urban activity either.
#Barcelona 17/x -
If someone really wants to hit pedestrians on purpose, they will have the opportunity.
#BarcelonaTerrorAttack 18/x -
Alert security services can respond quickly, but not before terrorists can do some damage.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack 19/x -
I wish I could end on a more positive note, telling you how tragedies like the
#BarcelonaTerrorAttack can be averted. But I can't. 20/x -
The reasons why
#terrorist groups and self-starters want to use violence are big, complicated, and not about to go away.#Barcelona 21/x -
And vehicle attacks are an effective tactic that even prepared security services will have trouble stopping.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack 22/x -
Intelligence can help anticipate, and alert police and individuals can help minimize the damage. But some will get through.
#Barcelona 23/x -
Unfortunately, this reality won't stop some people, especially politicians, from promising easy solutions.
#BarcelonaTerrorAttack 24/x -
But we can sympathize with victims and reject those who try to use the
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack to advance their preconceived agendas (END) -
UPDATE 1: Spanish police killed 5 in Cambrils attempting a vehicle attack, who they're treating as connected to the
#BarcelonaTerrorAttack. -
UPDATE 2: Reports say the 5 dead attackers were wearing explosive belts, casting doubt on the theory that the
#BarcelonaAttack was amateur. -
UPDATE 3: Explosive belts usually indicate professional operations, or at least connection to a terrorist group.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack -
UPDATE 4: Explosive belts require a skilled bomb maker. They're not the sort of thing an amateur throws together with household material.
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UPDATE 5: This also means it was very fortunate the Cambrils attack didn't kill anyone. The police did well.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack -
UPDATE 6: It's odd one operative, without explosives, would attack a major location while 5 with explosives would target one less prominent.
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