How the heightened IS terror threat affects Switzerland

France is on the highest state of alert against terror attacks. KEYSTONE

Several European countries, including France and Germany, are on high alert following a deadly terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall. Switzerland is also a potential target from the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) terror group, which has claimed responsibility for the multitude of deaths in Moscow.

SWI swissinfo.ch takes you through the possible ramifications for Switzerland and the measures that can be taken to defend the country from attack.

Is Switzerland a potential IS-K target?

ISIS-K is moving closer to mainland Europe after four gunmen killed some 140 people in the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday. The terror group is based in a region covering parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan and has already carried out deadly attacks in Afghanistan and Iran.

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The terror group is part of Islamic State, which has named the United States, Israel, European countries and Jewish people in general as its targets.

“Other countries are more exposed, especially those that are militarily involved in international coalitions against the Islamic State or are perceived as particularly Islamophobic by jihadist-inspired individuals,” the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) said in an emailed statement to SWI swissinfo.ch.

France, which is due to host the Summer Olympic Games this year, has raised its security alert to the highest level to defend itself from a repeat of terrorist attacks that have struck the country in previous years.

Germany is also on high alert following the recent arrest of two people accused of plotting an attack on Cologne Cathedral.

Switzerland is also taking the situation very seriously. “The terrorist threat to Switzerland remains elevated and is primarily jihadist in nature,” FIS said in its annual report Switzerland’s Security 2023, published last June.

“Islamic State is still willing to plan and carry out attacks in Europe,” FIS adds in its report. “The capabilities of the core organisation in Syria and Iraq are likely to remain weak in the coming years. By contrast, one of its offshoots – the Islamic State Khorasan in Afghanistan – has shown a new dynamic since 2022, which will likely have an impact on the terror threat situation in Europe in the coming years.”

In December, FIS said the threat of terrorist strikes remains “heightened” despite having no indications of concrete plans to attack the Alpine country.

While neutral Switzerland may not have taken part in military actions against terrorist groups, it has banned many jihadist groups, including a recent proposal to ban HamasExternal link following its attack on Israel last October.

What are the specific threats?

“The use of firearms or explosives remains a realistic possibility. In general, weakly protected targets such as large gatherings of people and areas on public transport, are exposed,” stated FIS in its June report. Attacks might also be directed at places of worship and against police and politicians, the report added.

But the main threat comes from constant attempts to radicalise disaffected individuals through online channels that glorify violence, the authorities believe.

In March, a 15-year-old youth, who had been radicalised in Tunisia before moving to Switzerland, was arrested following the stabbing of an Orthodox Jew in Zurich. In 2020 a woman stabbed shoppers in a department store in the southern Swiss city of Lugano. Two years later, a man was fatally stabbed to death in Morges, a small town on Lake Geneva, in a “jihadist-motivated” attack.

“The terrorist threat has become more diffuse in Europe since 2020, because it is increasingly emanating from individuals acting autonomously and who have no direct links to Islamic State or al-Qaeda. Psychological problems or personal crises are increasingly significant factors in precipitating the use of violence,” FIS stated in June.

What is the reaction from the Swiss authorities?

Switzerland was already braced for a “heightened” risk of terrorist attacks before the attack in Moscow.

“Fedpol is closely monitoring the situation and is in contact with national and international partner authorities,” the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) told SWI swissinfo.ch in an emailed statement.

While Fedpol defines and adapts the best protective measures against terrorism, it is the duty of cantonal police forces to implement these measures, Fedpol explained.

In addition to protecting Swiss citizens, Fedpol also coordinates with police forces in other countries. “Terrorists sometimes also use Switzerland as a logistical base for planning attacks in other countries or as a transit point,” Fedpol states on its websiteExternal link.

For example, in 2015, a French court sentenced a Swiss man to a 15-year jail term for recruiting people to prepare for terror attacks in France.  

Several arrests and prosecutions have been carried out in Switzerland against people engaging in terror-related activities, such as recruiting people to the jihadist cause.

Since 2017, there have been no known cases of Swiss people travelling abroad to join jihadist fighters active in other countries.

Are there any longer-term measures?

In 2021, Swiss voters approved a set of new measures designed to crack down on extremists.

The new laws contained the power to detain people to prevent them from carrying out terrorist attacks, even if there is not enough evidence to open criminal proceedings.

Suspected extremists can be placed under house arrest, forbidden from leaving the country, and be made to regularly report to police.

Opponents of the laws said they infringed too far on the rights of individuals and complained they would form one of the strictest anti-terrorism measures in Europe.

The then-justice minister, Karin Keller-Sutter, said the laws would only apply to a handful of people and would only be enforced as a last resort.

Edited by Balz Rigendinger/gw