LALIĆ: SOCIAL MEDIA MAKES MINORS EASY TARGETS FOR RADICALIZATION

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 29 /SRNA/ - Minors are particularly vulnerable to radicalization and manipulation through social media, said Velibor Lalić, a professor at the University of Banja Luka's Faculty of Security Sciences.

Lalić explained that minors can therefore come to accept radical ideologies and be used to carry out terrorist attacks.

"Minors don't necessarily have to belong to a particular terrorist organization. They can be followers of certain ideologies they pick up online, after which they can be instrumentalized and used as perpetrators of specific terrorist attacks," Lalić said.

Speaking about yesterday's attack on a Gendarmerie officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, Lalić said terrorist attacks can happen suddenly, which is why society must develop mechanisms of resilience to various forms of security threats.

"This is not the first incident at the same location. That tells us security measures must be stepped up and we must be ready to respond to potential terrorist attacks. In other words, there is no room for complacency," Lalić told reporters in Banja Luka.

Yesterday, a minor believed to be from Šabac attacked a Gendarmerie officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade with two knives, shouting "Allahu Akbar".

The officer killed the attacker in self-defense and sustained minor injuries.