- The alignment of Solingen's confession video with ISIS's ongoing tactical approach could be simplified as:
The Solingen knife attack, resulting in three fatalities, continues to cause unrest in German society and its sense of safety. The Islamic State (IS) has now taken responsibility for the incident in a claim video. The low-budget production initially leaves people baffled. However, it fits perfectly into IS's latest tactical approach.
The claim video looks as cheap as chips. A person conceals their identity with two kitchen towels, only their eyes are visible. While they curse the West and swear allegiance to the IS leader in Arabic, they brandish a sword – which appears to be made of plastic or tin. Household items or cleaning buckets can be seen in the background. The clip was allegedly recorded in a broom closet. Although the video's authenticity hasn't been confirmed yet, the low production value makes a stronger case than it might seem.
Video of the Solingen attack: Swearing allegiance to IS
Although terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and Al-Qaida are often associated with high-quality work in social media and media representation, this isn't always the case with terrorist acts linked to these groups. "The IS carries out three types of attacks: an organized attack like the recent one on the concert hall in Moscow. In this case, people are recruited, trained abroad, and sent to the target country to strike. The second type is a guided attack, like the one that was apparently planned for the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. The attackers live in their home country, make contact with the terrorist organization from there, and are then guided and advised from abroad," explains terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler in an interview with stern. "We have seen the third version in Solingen, an inspired attack." The full interview can be found here.
While the first two attacks are planned or directly supported by the IS, the attacker acts alone in the third case. "The attacker radicalizes themselves without contact with the IS, decides to carry out an attack, and only declares their loyalty to the terrorists shortly before the act," says the expert. And the claim videos are also produced independently, only being distributed on the official IS channels such as the news agency Amaq after the act.
This would also fit with the clips that have now been released: The suspected attacker, Issa al H., who came from Syria, was housed in a refugee shelter before surrendering to the police on Saturday evening. Producing high-quality videos there is not possible, especially if one doesn't want to attract attention. A broom closet and kitchen utensils may have to suffice in such a situation. In two further clips, the suspected attacker dispenses with this: Here, a person films themselves walking down the street, with their face being pixelated afterwards. The authenticity of these clips is also being investigated by the police. However, the damaged smartphone of the suspected attacker is hindering the investigations.
IS relies on self-radicalization
The fact that the attackers self-radicalize does not mean that the IS is not involved. "The IS currently has the most advanced propaganda machine among terrorist organizations," explains Matthew Olsen, the deputy attorney general for national security in the USA. The effectiveness of this strategy has already been extensively proven scientifically.
The terrorist organization deliberately stirs up hatred towards the West in channels on Telegram and social media, supporting potential attackers with instructional videos. In these horrifying tutorials, not only is it explained how to most effectively kill people with knives: in some, prisoners are actually murdered in front of the camera. This also desensitizes potential attackers to the suffering of others. Until they're ready to kill themselves.
The low-quality production of the claim video initially leaves people baffled, but it aligns with IS's recent tactical approach. However, the damaged smartphone of the suspected attacker is hindering the investigations.
The effectiveness of IS's propaganda machine has been extensively proven scientifically, with horrifying tutorials on Telegram and social media desensitizing potential attackers to the suffering of others.
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