Europol has warned that militants from so-called Islamic State (IS) will aim to step up attacks on European targets, as they face defeat in the Middle East.
The European police force says more foreign fighters will try to come back to Europe, and “several dozen” capable of attacks could already be there.
Their tactics could include car bombs, kidnappings and extortion, it said.
But the report plays down the likelihood of attacks on critical infrastructure, such as nuclear sites.
It says that IS militants now prefer soft targets.
It warns that some Syrian refugees in Europe may be vulnerable to recruitment by extremists who infiltrate refugee camps.
Europe has been shaken by a series of attacks in recent years blamed on IS militants.
‘Threat still high”
The report said the EU faced a range of threats and attacks from both organised networks and lone actors, either directed or inspired by IS and involving a range of weapons including bladed weapons and vehicles.
Home-made, commercial and military explosives in improvised devices such as those used in Syria and Iraq had not yet been used in Europe but this was “conceivable… at some stage”, it added.
“The so-called IS has proven to be very effective in inspiring people to commit terrorist acts and in setting attacks in motion themselves,” the report said.
Europol Director Rob Wainwright said in a statement that the scale of the threat was now widely acknowledged and increased cooperation across Europe had meant more arrests and more plots foiled.
But he cautioned against complacency: “Today’s report shows that the threat is still high and includes diverse components which can be only tackled by even better collaboration.”
