Islamic State Recruiting and Radicalizing Children Online

'Over the past nine months, teenagers made up almost two-thirds of suspects in Islamic State-related terror attacks or plots in Europe, ...'

From The European Conservative

By TEC News

In 27 jihadist terror attacks or plots since October, 65% of suspects were teenagers

The arrest of two teenagers planning a terror attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna is far from an isolated incident: Islamist extremists are increasingly using the Internet to recruit young people—including children, experts say.

In addition to the 19-year old main suspect and a 17-year-old employed by a company providing services at the Vienna concert venue, police are questioning a 15-year-old. All three were born in Austria with Turkish, Croatian, or North Macedonian family backgrounds. 

The recently foiled terror plot exemplifies a disturbing trend seen by experts and intelligence agencies. Over the past nine months, teenagers made up almost two-thirds of suspects in Islamic State-related terror attacks or plots in Europe, according to Peter Neumann, professor of Security Studies at King’s College London. 

In the 27 IS-related cases Neumann studied, 38 of 58 suspects are 13-19 years old. 

“It is a sign of how quickly jihadist activists exploit various social media platforms to reach different age groups,” terrorism researcher Hans Brun, also of King’s College, told Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. 

Brun said that, in recent months, terrorist organizations appear to be targeting a younger demographic—some, children as young as 10-12. 

“It is concerning,” Brun said, because “children at that age do not have good judgment and are very easily manipulated.

Online influencers often encourage children to initiate their own terrorist attacks, he said, sometimes providing contacts with older accomplices.

The 19-year-old arrested in Vienna on Wednesday admitted during questioning that he believed killing ‘infidels’ [non-Muslims] was justified. He follows a radical Salafist preacher on TikTok who currently has 81,000 followers on that platform and 46,000 on Instagram. According to Exxpress, the preacher, who has a large following in Austria, also influenced the 14-year-old would-be attacker of a 2023 Vienna Pride parade. 

Swedish security police Säpo verified that youth, sometimes children, are frequently exposed to violent extremist messages through social media as well as gaming platforms. Säpo press spokesman Gabriel Wernstedt told Dagens Nyheter the agency can document that “violent extremists seek out places where younger people are present in order to influence and recruit,” adding this should serve as a warning to parents.  

Europol reports that attacks and planned attacks have doubled since 2022. Terrorism researcher Brun said potential explanations include that Afghanistan-based IS-KP has been pushed outside by the Taliban, while the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq has regrouped after Western and Russian withdrawals.