Paris attacks to bring Syrian conflict into Europe: Italian analyst

The terror attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris on Friday indicated an attempt by terrorists to bring the Syrian battlefield into Europe, an Italian analyst said on Saturday.

"These attacks brought about a transformation (in the terror strategy): they definitely showed a will to bring the war from Syria to Europe, and make one of Europe's main cities into a battlefield," said Francesca Manenti, analyst with Rome-based Center for International Studies.

Instead of choosing a symbolic target as in previous months, this wave of well-coordinated attacks aimed at public locations which were most likely to be crowded on Friday nights such as restaurants, the concert hall, and the stadium.

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday said that the Islamic State group was behind the attacks, which he defined as "an act of war, planned and organized from abroad with help from inside France."

Analysts also deemed that perpetrators include European radicalized citizens, who were difficult to be detected by security forces under the shelter of European families and networks.

"Friday's attacks were carried out carefully and almost simultaneously, and struck in areas of Paris that were quite far away from each other," Manenti noted.

Besides, the analyst warned against further exacerbated divisions within Europe, since terrorist radicalization usually rose in marginalized regions where people felt excluded.

"The attacks in Paris might bring the EU countries to step up their involvement in the international coordination against terrorism," Manenti added, noting that "some steps in this direction have already been taken, with Iran and Saudi Arabia being invited to the international Syrian peace talks in Vienna." Endi