FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 96 - ENGLISH

67 INTERNATIONAL One of the report’s main findings is the increasing difficulty of identifying per- petrators before they act. Many attacks were prepared by individuals with no organised structure behind them or by very small groups. Completed attacks included methods requiring neither extensive planning nor difficult access to weapons: attacks using bladed weapons, firearms, arson and vehicles. For jihadist terrorism, eight of the nine completed attacks involved bladed wea- pons, and one involved running people over with a vehicle. In many cases, the targets were people chosen at random in public places. THE INTERNET, A KEY SETTING FOR RADICALISATION Europol identifies the internet as one of the main settings in which radicalisation now develops. Social media, gaming pla- tforms, forums and messaging apps pro- vide access to extremist propaganda and contact with other users. The European agency also warns that these processes can move from open in- ternet spaces into private channels, whe- re users’ activities are harder to detect. Artificial intelligence adds a new dimen- sion to the threat. According to Europol, these tools can generate or alter propa- ganda content, extend its reach and fa- cilitate certain tasks related to extremist activity. The report also highlights young peo- ple’s involvement in terrorism-related activities. Of the 486 people arrested for terrorist offences in the EU during 2025, 130 were aged 18 or younger. Among jihadist-related arrests, 108 of the 347 people arrested were minors or aged 18. Europol warns that early ex- Europol’s findings describe a threat less connected to large hierarchical organisations and more associated with isolated individuals, small cells and digital communities »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» posure to violent and extremist content online can accelerate radicalisation. The agency also notes that some young people may encounter extremist commu- nities through digital platforms and later take those relationships into the physical world. A THREAT HARDER TO IDENTIFY The report notes that radicalised indi- viduals’ profiles are increasingly varied. Some combine narratives from different extremist movements with conspiracy theories, violent content or misogynistic messages. International events add to this landsca- pe and may be used by extremist groups to fuel their narratives and encourage further radicalisation. Europol’s findings thus describe a threat less connected to large hierarchical or- ganisations and more associated with isolated individuals, small cells and di- gital communities. This transformation presents an additional challenge for se- curity forces: detecting signs of radicali- sation and determining when someone may move from consuming propaganda to preparing an attack. In this context, Spain’s figures show par- ticularly high levels of arrests for jihadist terrorism, although Europol’s data also reflect a threat spanning different forms of extremism and taking different cha- racteristics in each country.