Woolwich killing: the random attack has always been MI5's greatest fear
The Woolwich attack has all the hallmarks of the very nightmare MI5 has feared – low key fanatics arming themselves with basic weapons and targeting a soldier or other victim at random.
The police and security services have had repeated success since the 7/7 outrage in 2005, which left 52 innocent people dead, but they have been under constant threat of the lone wolf terrorist.
Dubbed the “Nike terrorists” after the sports giant’s slogan “Just Do It”, Britain has faced a new generation of Islamic extremists that are virtually impossible to detect.
They are self-starting fanatics who have radicalised themselves over the internet and while many may be inspired by al-Qaeda they do not need any command or control from the terror group.
MI5 was last night urgently investigating the alleged assailants in the Woolwich attack and trawling their systems to see if they were known to them or had ever crossed their radar.
But the nature of the new threat is often such attacks can come out of nowhere, with no network or obvious plot for MI5 or the police to pick up on in advance.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10074658/Woolwich-killing-the-random-attack-has-always-been-MI5s-greatest-fear.html
