Olympic arson attacks highlight growing danger of low-tech terrorism on public transit systems

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Sara Harmouch, American University

(THE CONVERSATION) As the Olympic torch was carried toward Paris for the 2024 Summer Games, flames of another kind were causing concern for the city’s security chiefs. On the eve of the July 26 opening ceremony, a series of arson attacks disrupted travel into the capital along a high-speed rail network.

Fortunately, no one was hurt in the series of small fires that brought trains to a halt on three major lines; nor has there been any claim of responsibility. But the incident exposed a vulnerability long known to security experts. Terrorist groups, too, have long seen passenger trains as attractive targets. Just months prior to the Paris incident, al-Qaida had been promoting train stations as potential targets.

As a defense researcher who focuses on how militant groups think and act, I see the Paris incident as a stark warning. Terrorist groups have long earmarked rail systems as a stage for attacks ranging from “spectaculars” – that is, coordinated, simultaneous acts designed to cause maximum amount of disruption, harm and panic –...