Support for Taliban and Al-Qaeda falling, says EU counter terror chief

The EU’s anti-terror ´tsar´ has told parliament that Islamic support for terror groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is dwindling.

Addressing a seminar on Thursday, the EU’s head of counter terrorism Gilles De Kerchove declared, "It is striking that public support in the Muslim world for such groups is actually going down.

"We are increasingly seeing messages posted on the internet in Islamic countries by people disassociating themselves from groups like Al-Qaeda and denigrating what they are doing supposedly in their name," said Kerchove.

"In particular, they are denouncing the ´kidnapping´ of the Islamic faith by these terrorists.

"All this should not actually come as such a surprise because it is people in the Muslim world who have been the main victims of such terrorism."

Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, the most notable being the September 11 attacks in 2001,while US-led forces continue to battle a recent resurgence by the Taliban in war-torn Afghanistan.

Despite falling support for such groups, De Kerchove, a former aide to the EU's security chief, Javier Solana, insists there is no room for complacency in fight against terrorism, particularly in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Speaking at a meeting of the security and defence sub-committee on the fight against terrorism, he was critical of the EU for its "lack of a certain vision" in tackling international terrorism.

He said, "What is needed is a long-term strategy, a vision, if you like, which will allow us to move forward more rapidly and efficiently in this field."

The EU, he added, also needed to "match" the modern communication methods shown in recent years by groups like Al-Qaeda.

"Everyone recognises the fact that they are very effective and professional in the way, for instance, that they use the internet to get their message across.

"The aim should be us to develop a narrative which is just as effective as Al-Qaeda," said De Kerchove.

The creation of the anti-terror post in 2004 came as part of the EU’s response to the Madrid bombings which killed over 200 people.

It was agreed that a single official should coordinate the anti-terrorism work of member states. De Kerchove, appointed in 2007, works under Solana, pulling together all the measures being taken in the security field by ministers of transport, justice, foreign affairs and finance.

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