Newsweek

The Rise of Female Jihadis in Europe

European authorities are just waking up to the dangers of radicalized women.
Soldiers patrol in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral on November 16, 2015 in Paris, after attacks claimed by the Islamic State killed at least 129 people and left more than 350 injured on November 13. A car full of gas cylinders was discovered parked near Notre Dame Cathedral in early September, and at the center of the failed violent plot were women allegedly inspired or directed by the Islamic State.
Notre Dame soldiers

It was early on a Sunday morning in September when French police discovered a Peugeot parked near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris with its hazard lights flashing and its license plates removed. The car carried seven gas cylinders, six of them full, and three cans of diesel. The perpetrators had perhaps intended to blow it up with a lit cigarette and a fuel-soaked blanket, but the vehicle failed to detonate. Three weeks after that failed plot, police arrested two teenage suspects accused of planning a violent attack in Nice, the details of which haven’t been made public.

At the center of both plots: women allegedly inspired or directed

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Newsweek

Newsweek1 min readPolitical Ideologies
Polls Panic
A soldier guards electoral kits on April 10 ahead of Ecuador’s referendum. Voters go to the polls on April 21 in a bid to reform the constitution and tackle security issues as the country struggles to control organized crime. Mexico has called for Ec
Newsweek7 min read
The Secret to Being an ADHD Whisperer
Penn and Kim Holderness are widely celebrated for their entertaining viral parody videos (singing included!) on topics ranging from parenting and helping kids with homework and masking up for the pandemic (to the tune of the Hamilton soundtrack) to “
Newsweek1 min read
The Archives
“Fewer than 14 percent of AIDS victims have survived more than three years after being diagnosed, and no victim has recovered fully,” Newsweek reported during the epidemic. AIDS, caused by severe HIV, has no official cure. However, today’s treatment

Related