Lone Wolves: Operations and Confrontation Strategies

Summary

The study of the tactic of the “lone wolf” within the jihadist state in isolation from the general context of this phenomenon may lead to false conclusions; therefore, a careful understanding of this term requires profound anatomy, including exploration of its background and historical roots and discussing the linguistic controversy around it among researchers.

The paper concludes that despite all the weaknesses and modest results of the ‘lone wolf’ tactic, in light of its high cost, the jihadist lone wolf attacks pose an unavoidable threat, whether due to the increasing number of targeted countries from the 1990s until the new millennium, or the number of victims that are killed or injured as a result of lone wolf attacks.