London: Islamic State militants disguised as beach vendors selling ice creams or T-shirts may attack holiday resorts of Mediterranean coast in Europe this summer, according to a German media report.
German security sources said ‘Bild’ newspaper that they fear Islamic state terrorists disguised as beach vendors selling ice cream or T-shirts could bury bombs in the sand under sunloungers.
According to the ‘Daily Mirror’, Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) troops could be drafted in to protect British tourists at holiday hotspots abroad.
One intelligence source told the newspaper: “It could be a whole new dimension of terror. Holiday beaches cannot be protected. Targets are said to include resorts in southern France, Spain’s Costa del Sol and both east and west coasts in Italy.”
Security officials are also investigating links between terrorists in Britain and those in Belgium and France that go back more than 15 years. These include some with ties to Molenbeek, the Brussels suburb which has been at the heart of the recent bombings and shootings in Europe.
Western European intelligence officers believe that the links set up a decade and half ago between extremists in the UK and those on the wider European continent have been maintained and have become more active since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
PTI