Terrorists seek to psychologically shock society
On Monday, a man allegedly suffering psychiatric problems deliberately rammed a stolen van into pedestrians at two bus stations in Marseille, France, which caused one death and another injury.
That incident has not been confirmed as terrorist attack yet, but it largely deepened the nervousness of Europe about security. Especially, as the attack happened after the Aug 17 attack in Barcelona, Spain, which left 13 people dead and over 100 injured. The last known perpetrator of the Barcelona van attack was killed on Monday.
The Barcelona attack was carried out in a way similar to the previous attacks in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom: Terrorists drove unarmed civilian automobiles into pedestrians and caused casualties. In the first such attack in Nice, southern France, on July 14 last year, 84 people were killed. The Barcelona attack is the latest in this round of attacks in Europe that have used automobiles as weapons.
