Islamic State threatens terrorist attack at the 2024 European Championship: what do we know?

Ahead of the 2024 European Championship, Germany is on high alert, with the risk of a terrorist attack taking place during the tournament thought to be very high. Security has been ramped up in the country, which will host Euro 2024 between 14 June and 14 July this summer. According to German newspaper Bild, reliable government sources believe a German-based branch of the Islamic State (Daesh, ISIS) is planning an attack in that time. On Monday, a similar threat was issued ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Germany on high alert after radical Islamist magazine publications

A radical Islamist magazine has called for public transport in Germany to be targeted while the tournament is taking place. A series of graphics are depicted, including one showing an image of a terrorist holding a gun and dressed in camouflage aboard an S-Bahn train (an urban-suburban train used in Germany) along with the captain: “Final call before departure.”

In the seat next to the terrorist is a box labeled “TNT explosives”, beneath a sign that says “Welcome to Europe.” The magazine makes direct instructions to Mujahideen (as the Islamic State refers to its fighters) to commit all kinds of atrocities: “Run over the kafir (disbelievers in Islam) with your vehicle, stab them with knives, fill their food with poison, blow their brains out with bullets and set fire to their houses.”

Champions League threatened by Islamic State

This week, security was ramped up at soccer matches all over Europe after a threat was launched against the four stadiums hosting Champions League quarter-final games on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Al Azaim Foundation, a media outlet that is responsible for spreading messages from the Islamic State (Daesh, ISIS), published the image of a poster threatening the Parc des Princes, the Santiago Bernabéu, the Metropolitano and the Emirates Stadium, with the message “Kill them all”.

Thankfully, nothing came to pass.

Bild say German security forces have cited that radical Islamist propaganda calls for the carrying out of high-impact attacks, no matter how and by whom. “To this end, all potential attackers, especially the so-called lone wolves, are now asked to carry out attacks,” the magazine piece continues.

Another image shows a drone flying over the Bernabéu in Madrid with the message:: “If they squeeze and oppress you on the ground, then hit them from the sky.” There has been an increased effort to bolster security in France as well as Germany, with 2024 Olympic Games to be held in Paris.

When were the most recent terrorist attacks from ISIS?

Last October, a terrorist attack in Brussels forced the Belgium-Sweden Euro 2024 qualification match to be called off at half-time after two Swedish citizens were murdered near the King Baudouin stadium.

The latest attack by the Islamic State, which took place on 22 March at the Crocus City Hall, a large concert hall in Moscow, is still fresh.

Several armed men, dressed in camouflage uniforms, burst in and fired automatic weapons at the audience. The criminal action resulted in 143 dead and around 200 wounded.