French Intel Experts Warn of More November 13 Type Attacks in 2016

Local Editor

Counterterrorism experts in France said that France and the rest of Europe should brace themselves for more attacks of the type that hit Paris on November 13, when a number of terrorists indiscriminately shot 130 dead and injured hundreds more.

Experts believe that the November 13 attacks could have been far worse if the attacker had not run out of ammunition and said they believe similar groups of radicalized terrorists around Europe will be learning from their methods and mistakes when planning similar attacks.

The 2015 attacks began on January 7, when Saïd and Chérif Kouachi forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris and shot 11 people dead, wounding 11 others, before fleeing and killing a policeman outside.

The shootings were followed by another hostage-taking event involving Amedy Coulibaly who was a close friend of the Kouachi brothers.

Coulibaly entered and attacked people in the kosher food mini-supermarket in Porte de Vincennes, where he murdered four hostages and held fifteen others hostage. Police ended the siege by storming the store and killing Coulibaly.

Then, on November 13, gunmen and suicide bombers launched a series of attacks at the Stade de France, the Bataclan music venue, as well as cafes and restaurants, killing 130 people in the deadliest assault on French soil since the Second World War.

However, an unnamed French intelligence sources told the AFP news agency:

"Unfortunately, I think 2015 was nothing. We are moving towards a European 9/11: simultaneous attacks on the same day in several countries, several places. A very coordinated thing. We know the terrorists are working on this."

His views were backed-up by Yves Trotignon, a former member of the French DGSE intelligence service, who told France 24:

"The November 13 attacks, from the terrorists' point of view, involved a large number of tactical mistakes that they will learn from.

"For example, the death toll at the Bataclan [music venue, where 89 people were killed] was limited because the attackers ran out of ammunition. At the Stade de France the bombers were unable to get into the stadium," Trotignon added.

Jean-Charles Brisard, chairman of the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism told the TV station: "There will definitely be more November 13 type attacks being planned against targets in France and Europe. This kind of attack is not new."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team