“LONE WOLF” terrorists are a headache(令人头疼的事) for security officials. It is hard to detect(发现，察觉) extremists who self-radicalise online(在网上自我激进化), do not attend mosques and plan attacks alone. Germany, where the Islamist terrorist threat arrived relatively late, has had to learn this lesson. In 2024 a Syrian failed asylum-seeker(失败的寻求庇护者) who had evaded deportation(逃避驱逐出境) killed three people in a stabbing spree(持刀伤人狂潮) in Solingen, near Düsseldorf. Although he was aligned with(与……结盟) Islamic State (IS), he was never identified as a security threat.
“独狼”式恐怖分子令安全官员头疼。那些在网上自我激进化、不去清真寺、单独策划袭击的极端分子很难被发现。德国遭遇伊斯兰恐怖威胁相对较晚，不得不吸取这一教训。2024年，一名逃避驱逐的叙利亚籍失败寻求庇护者在杜塞尔多夫附近的索林根持刀行凶，造成三人死亡。尽管他与伊斯兰国（IS）有关联，却从未被认定为安全威胁。
But with Abdul Ballout the warning lights could not have flashed more brightly.(但就阿卜杜勒·巴卢特而言，警示灯已经亮得不能再亮了。) On July 25th Mr Ballout is alleged(被指控的) to have driven a van into crowds leaving Berlin’s Christopher Street Day parade(克里斯托弗街日游行), a gay-pride event, before reportedly stabbing a number of people. (He fled, and was later shot dead by police.) A Polish woman was killed, and dozens hurt. Mr Ballout is said to have left behind a short confession video pledging his allegiance(宣誓效忠) to IS. The attack cannot have surprised the German security agencies, because they had been tracking(追踪，监视) him for years.
但就阿卜杜勒·巴卢特而言，警示灯已经亮得不能再亮了。7月25日，巴卢特被指控驾驶一辆货车冲入柏林克里斯托弗街日游行（一场同性恋骄傲活动）的人群，随后据报道又刺伤多人。（他逃跑了，后来被警方击毙。）一名波兰女子死亡，数十人受伤。据称巴卢特留下了一段简短的认罪视频，宣誓效忠伊斯兰国。这次袭击不可能让德国安全机构感到意外，因为他们已经追踪他多年。
A teenage troublemaker(惹是生非者) convicted of(被判有罪) assault and robbery, Mr Ballout appears to have been radicalised(被激进化) online and via extremist preachers in Berlin, his home city. He twice pursued jihadist(圣战分子) connections abroad, in Mauritania and later Lebanon, from where he intended to join IS fighters in Syria. The second trip saw him imprisoned in Lebanon last year. Officials there informed their German counterparts, and on his return home Mr Ballout was immediately placed into pre-trial detention(审前拘留). In May a Berlin court handed him a prison sentence(判处他监禁) of one year and ten months, under juvenile criminal law(青少年刑法) (which can apply to young adults), for “preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state”.
巴卢特少年时期就是个惹是生非者，曾因袭击和抢劫被定罪。他似乎是在网上和柏林（他的家乡）的极端主义传教士影响下变得激进。他曾两次在国外寻求圣战联系，一次在毛里塔尼亚，后来在黎巴嫩，并打算从那里加入叙利亚的伊斯兰国武装分子。第二次出行导致他去年在黎巴嫩被监禁。黎巴嫩官员通知了德国同行，巴卢特回国后立即被审前拘留。5月，柏林一家法院以“准备实施危害国家的严重暴力行为”为由，根据青少年刑法（可适用于年轻人）判处他一年零十个月监禁。