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
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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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UPDATE 7: But, if Cambrils proves connected to
#Barcelona, we're looking at a cell, quite possibly with one or more#ISIS members. -
UPDATE 8: The cell that attacked Paris and Brussels was an
#ISIS operative who recruited locals, and these attacks could be similar. -
UPDATE 9: In some sense, that's good news, because it becomes an intelligence/law enforcement challenge.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack -
UPDATE 10: Random person with a vehicle is nearly impossible to anticipate, but a cell can be tracked and traced.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack -
UPDATE 11: And professional terrorist operatives recruiting locals can be countered with intel sources and addressing sociopolitical issues.
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NEW UPDATE 1: Cambrils attackers' suicide belts were fake. That's more evidence
#Barcelona was amateur, not#ISIS pros. (h/t@brienbarnett) -
NEW UPDATE 2: By contrast, Paris attackers wore real suicide vests into the Bataclan concert hall. Two detonated.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack -
NEW UPDATE 3: Fake suicide belts is a risky strategy. Intimidates bystanders, but says arrest impossible. Security forces shoot-to-kill.
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NEW UPDATE 4: There's also a wannabe aspect to it. As if they were playing jihadist dress up.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack -
NEW UPDATE 5: Evidence is mounting that they were self-starters (inspired by, rather than trained and sent by a terrorist group).
#Barcelona -
NEW UPDATE 6: But, assuming Cambrils and
#BarcelonaAttack were connected, why would 5 attack a small town and just 1 a big city? -
NEW UPDATE 7: It's possible they were rushed, stepping up plans as authorities closed in. That happened in Brussels.
#BarcelonaTerrorAttack -
NEW UPDATE: But it's an open question. As is if these 6 were the whole group. To answer, we need more info.
#BarcelonaTerroristAttack
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This brings to mind the almost ubiquitous presence of heavily armed police units in populated areas of Paris this summer.
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Show of force discourages attacks. Large presence puts police in position to respond. Makes it harder for terrorists, but hardly impossible.
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