Two Weeks in the New Normal

Mourad Hamyd in detention in Sofia (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP)

I’ve been away for a while, so I’m catching up with recent news stories on events in Europe.  After the recent spate of attacks, things have simmered at a lower level in the past couple weeks, but there is still plenty in which to delve, even if one limits himself to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

The Latest French Terror Plot

Ameroud incapacitated at the tram station

As I wrote in my last post, French police arrested Reda Kriket on Thursday, March 24, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine.  He led police to another apartment in Argenteuil (Val-d’Oise).  The 34-year-old Kriket was well-known to both French and Belgian authorities as a jihadist fundraiser who traveled himself to Syria in 2014.  He was convicted in the “La filière syrienne” trial in Belgium last year with Abaaoud, recruiter Khalid Zerkani (Papa Noël), and a host of other foreign fighters—some of whom are already dead.

A Flurry of Activity Around Europe

Due to other requirements on my time, I was forced to sit back for a few days and watch as things unfolded in the aftermath of the Brussels bombings.  Thankfully, this was so, because we’ve seen raid upon raid and arrest after arrest since late last week with little clarity added to the picture since then.  All that seems to be apparent is that the situation is far more complex and worrisome than authorities have either believed or made known to the public before now.