Mike Baker

But as similar incidents began to surface, it became harder to dismiss them as one-off acts of vandalism and easier to see the outline of perhaps something coordinated across Europe.

In the hours after the car fire in late March, police moved in quickly and arrested two teenagers.

Not long after, grainy footage of the incident surfaced online, showing one person pouring liquid over the car and another lighting it.

And then comes a claim of responsibility from a group that, until recently, didn't even exist in public view.

That would be the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right.

The group this week has claimed responsibility for an attack in Golders Green, London, a heavily Jewish neighborhood where an attacker stabbed two individuals.

Previous incidents have included explosions outside synagogues and Jewish schools across Belgium and the Netherlands, and vehicles set on fire in multiple cities.

And in North London, ambulances tied to a Jewish charity were torched.

All of the attacks unfolding over roughly two months across the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, largely targeting Jewish or Israeli-linked sites, often under the cover of darkness.

Now, these attacks haven't caused any deaths yet, and until the London stabbings, there hadn't been any reported injuries.

What we're understanding is that they're small by design, with limited physical damage and maximum psychological impact.

And that appears to be the point.

Because when you look at the individuals carrying these out, it doesn't resemble a traditional terror network.

Intelligence agencies across Europe say many of those involved are teenagers or young adults, mostly locals, with no deep ideological ties and no formal training.

In many cases, they're recruited online through platforms like Snapchat or Telegram, offered small amounts of cash, and given simple instructions.

According to the New York Times, a defense lawyer in the Antwerp case said her client had, quote, no idea what he was part of, but was simply trying to make, quote, quick cash.

The lawyer went on to say that the teenagers across these incidents are, quote, basically cannon fodder.

They're being used, end quote.

While European authorities have not formally attributed these attacks, the tactics, the targets, the geographic spread, and even the online platforms where these claims are circulating point in a familiar direction.

Authorities across Europe are now investigating whether there are links, direct or indirect, to Iran or one of its regional proxies.