Police in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,
Canada, shot and killed a 25-year-old Quebec man Oct. 20 after he
intentionally ran over two Canadian soldiers with his car and led police
on a high-speed chase. During the chase, the suspect, Martin Rouleau,
reportedly called the authorities and told the dispatcher he was "acting
in the name of Allah." After losing control of his car and rolling it,
Rouleau reportedly threatened officers with a large souvenir knife, and
the officers shot him. One of the soldiers died from his injuries and
the other was wounded.
According to the Toronto Star, Rouleau converted to Islam about a
year ago after struggling with personal and business issues, adopting
the name Ahmed Rouleau on Facebook and Abu Ibrahim AlCanadi on Twitter. A
review of his social media accounts shows that he had a distinct
attraction toward jihadism. Rouleau followed a number of jihadist
Twitter accounts, many of which are associated with the Islamic State.
His personal profiles also feature symbols frequently used by jihadists.
Canadian authorities prevented Rouleau from leaving the country when he
attempted to travel to Syria to join a jihadist group last summer.
Rouleau's vehicle attack is very similar to a tactic al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula advocated in the second edition of Inspire magazine,
where grassroots jihadists were told to run over victims with a large
pick-up truck. Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani also
called on jihadists to use vehicles and other simple modes of attack in a
statement released on Sept. 21:
You must strike the soldiers, patrons, and troops of the
tawaghit. Strike their police, security, and intelligence members, as
well as their treacherous agents. Destroy their beds. Embitter their
lives for them and busy them with themselves. If you can kill a
disbelieving American or European -- especially the spiteful and filthy
French -- or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from
the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries
that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon
Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be…
If you are not able to find an IED or a bullet, then
single out the disbelieving American, Frenchman, or any of their allies.
Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him
over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him,
or poison him.
This incident is precisely the type of attack we expect from grassroots jihadists, who are eager to fight but generally lack the terrorist tradecraft required to conduct a more sophisticated attack. Quite frequently, these individuals stumble into law enforcement stings when they seek the capability to conduct a more sophisticated attack. Those who decide to conduct a simple attack like the Boston Marathon bombers,
however, generally succeed. In this case, Rouleau's attack was not well
thought out, and his use of a cheap souvenir knife reveals that he was
also poorly equipped, yet he succeeded in killing a Canadian soldier
before being killed himself.
Considering the number of people who have become radicalized, it is actually remarkable that more grassroots jihadist attacks have not occurred
in the West. This is a testament to the efforts of law enforcement and
intelligence agencies, organizations keenly aware of the threat that
grassroots jihadists pose. By maintaining awareness of these kinds of
threats, police and communities can help mitigate the danger. However,
with so many individuals to monitor, limited resources and the ease with
which simple attacks can be conducted, it is impossible to stop every
grassroots jihadist bent on destruction. Ultimately, grassroots
jihadists will continue to pose a persistent, though limited, threat.
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