Fighters of Islamic-State: Blamed for some of the deaths

The European Law Enforcement Agency, Europol, said on Thursday that the continent had been struck by “an unprecedented form’’ of terrorism in the past two years.

Some 135 people had died in 2016 as a result of Islamist terrorism in Europe, Europol said in a report released in the Hague.

Islamists had carried out 13 attacks, the report said. Six of these attacks had a direct link to the Islamic State extremist group.

A record 700 people had been arrested in 2016.

Europe had experienced an “unprecedented form of jihadist terrorist attacks,’’ said Europol director Rob Wainwright.

The biggest threat was said to come from lone attackers returning from countries such as Syria, Europol said.

Groups like Islamic State were very successful online and had made “optimal’’ use of social networks for propaganda and recruiting, the report said.

Some 142 terrorist attacks had been registered in 2016 in Europe, the report said, adding that nationalist and separatist groups had been behind most of the attacks.

(dpa/NAN)