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(b)(3)

International Terrorism in Western Europe, 1986

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Terrorists were active in Western Europe last year, the marks of any foreign involvement. The RAF but for the first time in the 1980s, the number of issued some documents in the name of the “antiinternational terrorist attacks there declined.' There imperialist front"--and the French group Action were changes in the venues, victims, and perpetrators Directe (AD) echoed some of this rhetoric—but there of attacks: Spain became a principal location of was no evidence the groups coordinated any of their international attacks, with France and Germany in operations. (b)(3) second and third place. French interests were most often targeted, followed by US and, more distantly, There were innovations in RAF attacks last year, and Spanish interests. Western Europe remained the most a new element within the RAF gained prominence for dangerous place for Americans abroad, although most its bombing activities. The innovations included the US casualties occurred as a result of attacks, not by use of a remote-control ambush bomb, the selection of European but rather by Middle Eastern groups. a target because of his connections to the nuclear

issue and the US Strategic Defense Initiative, and the Most West European groups continued to concentrate pointblank assassination of a Foreign Ministry their attacks against domestic government facilities, official. The recently invigorated RAF “illegal the police and security forces, and businesses.

militant” level bombed at least 10 targets following Surprisingly, the group that committed the most the general theme of. assassinations conducted by the international attacks in 1986 was the Basque

"hardcore” members. The bombings were directed Fatherland and Liberty (ETA-M), responsible for 36 against government and associated facilities, attacks, mostly harassment bombings of French including security and police installations, and businesses and privately owned automobiles. By businesses associated with weapons production and contrast, the West German Red Army Faction

nuclear power.

(b)(3) (RAF)-the second most active group after ETAM-conducted only four international attacks last At a conference of terrorist support groups last

s vary active against West German winter, the RAF acknowledged it erred in attacking targets.? (b)(3)

Rhein-Main Airbase in 1985 and killing an American

serviceman. The RAF modified its tactics during the West Germany: The RAF

year to avoid unintended casualties when it attacked Euroterrorism, the much-touted phenomenon of the symbolic targets. The illegal militants, for example, mid-1980s, appears to have dwindled in 1986 to little carried out their bombings at night and provided more than rhetorical pronouncements. The RAF-the warnings. The RAF also concentrated its efforts on key proponent of a united terrorist front-was

attacking West German interests and largely ignored inactive until midyear, and none of its attacks bore US and NATO targets.

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year, but it

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Much of this decline (140 incidents in 1986 compared with over 200 in 1985) probably is attributable to a falloff in attacks by Middle Eastern terrorists that have spilled over into Western Europe. Attacks of this type will be treated separately in a later issue ? Although events and trends in domestic terrorism (such as attacks by French groups on French targets in France) form a large part of this annual review, our statistical conclusions refer only to international incidents. Our data base on indigenous terrorism is generally less complete[(b)(3)

West German police scored two noteworthy successes against the RAF last year, but the pace of attacks throughout the fall indicated these arrests had no immediate impact on the group's effectiveness. The RAF probably will continue to be among Western Europe's most active and lethal homegrown terrorist groups.

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19

Sooret.

DI TR 87-004 26 February 1987

Approved for Release: 2017/09/13 C05922884