ISIS ‘lone wolves’ will attack Britain in MONTHS – and UK likely to raise threat level, warn terror experts
LONE "gangster jihadis" could attack the UK this summer - and Britain could increase its threat level, counter terror experts have warned.
Former head of UK Counter Terrorism Chris Phillips told The Sun that there is a "very real threat" of an attack on UK soil in the coming months.
The Sun warned in February that the West could be facing a new "War on Terror" as rampant Islamic extremists gear up to exploit chaos in the Middle East.
In recent weeks ISIS have resurfaced in Europe and the US in a concerning escalation putting British counter-terror experts on high alert.
Chris said "a terrorist attack is likely" - and warned of the threat posed by ISIS lone wolves, or "radicalised individuals".
And Will Geddes, a leading counter terror expert, said he would not be surprised if our terror threat level increases.
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He told The Sun: "I would be remarkably surprised if we did not see a terrorist attack on UK or on European soil, certainly in the next few months."
Just days ago, the bloodthirsty death cult threatened to attack four stadiums in London, Madrid and Paris during the Champions League quarter finals.
The infamous terror group's twisted PR arm put out a disturbing message which vowed to "kill them all", including those at London's Emirates Stadium.
Weeks ago in Moscow, four ISIS-K gunmen unleashed gunfire on concert-goers, slaughtering over 140 and publishing horrific videos of their deaths.
And this week several radicalised teenagers in Germany and the US were arrested for planned terror attacks on churches in the name of ISIS.
Chris told The Sun: "A terrorism attack is likely... it is very likely.
"I think you have to understand the sheer numbers of people that hold these extreme views."
He said the Champions League threat was ISIS "trying to put themselves back on the map", and a "call to arms" for extremist individuals.
They said in just four years, 39 large-scale terrorist plots had been thwarted on UK soil - but warned that the threat is on the rise.
The current UK threat level, measured by MI5 and Counter Terror intelligence, sits at "substantial" which means an attack is likely.
The next level would be "severe", making an attack highly likely.
He said particular concern was being paid to Islamist extremism, among other actors.
Chris told The Sun that UK Counter Terrorism is picking up chatter and acting on it, thwarting most attacks before they can happen.
"They're monitoring it well enough to actually put the stops in," he said.
"Which is why I think we haven't had the big attacks, so they're getting the intelligence."
ISIS attacks on the rise
In March, ISIS launched a rampage in Moscow - the worst Islamic extremist terror attack in Europe to date.
German cops this week discovered a terrifying underground cell of teens gearing up to attack churches and police stations in the name of ISIS, reports.
It also shared intelligence about an ISIS supporter suggesting in order to negotiate for the release of extremists.
And SITE has seen an from inside Iraq sparked by the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.
Who are ISIS?
ISIS, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is a murderous terrorist network that officially formed in 2004.
The group, known for its barbaric public executions and beheadings, was originally part of al-Qaeda - the terrorists responsible for 9/11 which sparked the decades-long global War on Terror.
They took advantage of instability in Iraq and Syria after 2000 to rule with an iron fist.
After an injection of American troops into Iraq in 2007, ISIS lost some of its power grip in the region.
But it began to reemerge in 2011 and by 2014 the US had formed Operation Inherent Resolve.
The mission involved putting American boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria - as well as other regions in the Middle East.
In 2014, ISIS was the most powerful, best-equipped and wealthiest Islamic extremist group the world had ever seen.
By 2015 it had branches operating in at least eight other countries.
That October, their Egypt network bombed a Russian plane and killed over 220 people.
In November 2015, 130 were murdered and over 300 injured during one of their most brutal attacks on the West in Paris.
And in June 2016, a gunman who pledged himself to the murderous organisation killed at least 48 people at a nightclub in Florida.
By December 2017, ISIS had lost 95 per cent of it’s stolen territory.
But its core ideologies, which included a burning hatred for the Western way of life, continued to inspire countless terrorist attacks around the world.
While American combat in Iraq was officially axed in December 2021, 2,500 troops were left stationed there to work as advisers and trainers for Iraqi security forces trying to fend off extremist forces.
There are believed to be less than 1,000 still stationed in Syria.
Three of those American troops were killed in Jordan on January 28 - in a drone attack at a US military base near the Syrian and Iraq borders.
Attacks in Europe
Both Will and Chris told The Sun the Paris Olympics this summer is an obvious target for terrorists looking to hit Europe.
France announced that it's terror threat level was raised to the highest marker after the Moscow attack - meaning an attack is "imminent".
Chris told The Sun: "Paris Olympics is an obvious target.
"Probably not at the stadiums themselves. More likely, you know, the marathons, the tube and the train network, which are going to be less protected than the games.
"I think if I was Paris and if I was France, I would you know, they are very concerned about the the the threat of terrorism.
"It's worth talking about the Olympics as being, you know, almost like the best target for terrorists in France.
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"And there are so many of them in France that, you know, I don't think they're managing them as well as we do.
"The Paris Olympics must be causing huge concerns for the French government."
