NEWS

Avoidance of any bloodshed

In other parts of the world, the fight against terrorists has often been accompanied by bloody conflicts. What prevented this from happening here? When we started out, we were afraid that could happen. All our plans made provision for it. We wanted to avoid harm coming to innocent people or to police officers. We exploited the element of surprise where conditions allowed. We created a sense of superior force in order to avert any thought of an aggressive response. We showed that we were absolutely determined. After the relatively rapid discovery of November 17’s safe houses and the seizure of nearly all the group’s operational material, things became easier. The only fear was of an isolated incident, which is why we were prepared as much as it was possible to be. I believe, however, that after some point – especially after the safe houses were found – the terrorists themselves realized that the game was irrevocably up.

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