Paris burnt in an immense terror attack on Friday for a little more than 3 hours. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the catastrophic attack. It called the attacks “the first of the storm” and mocked the cultural capital of the world as a capital of prostitutions and obscenity. It was the worst manifestation of Islamic fundamentalism sweeping over West Asia. The nature of the attack was more like IS operations than Al Qaida operations. France is part of the US-led coalition that has been striking the IS group in Syria and Iraq for the past year and has been targeted by the Jihadists because of its perceived tolerance of speech deemed offensive to Islam. In January, Al Qaida was supposed to have killed cartoonists at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. Even if something may be said in defense of the attack of the cartoonists who were targeted for blasphemy, the invasion of Paris was unparalleled in recent history. It was not just that 150 people were killed, the widespread destruction in the great city is a wakeup call to the UN to the bring the IS to heel.
The world closed ranks behind France and President Francois Hollande pledged relentless war on terrorism. Cities around the world lit up their iconic monument to show solidarity with Paris while Eiffel tower plunged into darkness. The tragedy belies US President Barack Obama’s claim that the IS atrocities have been contained. It is good that Russia and China which had been ambivalent about joint action in Syria have roundly condemned the attack in Paris. The weakness of security in France should create great concern in India. The recent act of terror has triggered debates in Indian security and intelligence establishment on the safety of Indian city. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has gone from UK to Turkey is firmly committed to raising the issue of counter-terrorism at the G20 Summit.
