Have Vehicles Become New Terror Weapon Of Choice?

In 2010, the Al-Qaeda-linked Inspire magazine ran an article titled  “The Ultimate Mowing Machine.” It encouraged readers to “use a pickup truck as a mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah.” It went on to provide details on how to “achieve maximum carnage” should one be guided to such a “great operation.” 

Seven years later, it’s clear radical Islamic terrorists took that mission to heart. As The Wall Street Journal notes, vehicles—being easy to acquire and unsuspicious—just might be the new weapon of choice for terrorist attacks. Last July, a rampage in France saw 86 people killed when a truck rammed through crowded streets during their annual Bastille celebration. 

On Wednesday, three people were killed by a terrorist who ran a vehicle into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge, then stabbed a police officer. WSJ cites Rita Katz of the jihadist activity-tracking SITE Intelligence Group as saying that the Islamic State “saw the deadly potential in such attacks, and doubled down on inciting them.”