2017 Turku attack

2017 Turku attack
Part of Islamic terrorism in Europe
A Finnish police officer kneeling beside Abderrahman Bouanane at 16:24 after he was detained[Note 1]
Turku is located in Finland
Turku
Turku
Turku (Finland)
LocationBetween Market Square and Puutori, central Turku, Finland
Coordinates60°27′07″N 022°15′59″E / 60.45194°N 22.26639°E / 60.45194; 22.26639
Date18 August 2017; 7 years ago (2017-08-18)
16:02 – 16:05 (EET (UTC+3))
TargetCivilian pedestrians
Attack type
Stabbing
Weapons2 kitchen knives
Deaths2
Injured8
MotiveRadicalized lone wolf influenced by ISIS and Western Coalition airstrikes during the 2017 Battle of Raqqa[3][4]
ConvictedAbderrahman Bouanane
Verdict
  • 2 counts of murder with terrorist intent
  • 8 counts of attempted murder with terrorist intent

The 2017 Turku attack took place on 18 August 2017 at around 16:02–16:05 (UTC+3) when 10 people were stabbed in central Turku, Southwest Finland. Two women were killed in the attack and eight people sustained injuries.

Police were informed at 16:02. Three minutes later the attacker, Abderrahman Bouanane, a Moroccan rejected asylum seeker, had been detained. At the time of his arrest, Bouanane was using the name Abderrahman Mechkah, which was later discovered to be a false identity. In June 2018, Bouanane was found guilty of two counts of murder with terrorist intent and eight counts of attempted murder with terrorist intent. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. It was the first time anybody had been sentenced for a terrorist crime in Finland.

Bouanane reportedly identified as a soldier of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). He had been radicalised three months before the stabbing took place. During the investigation, ISIS propaganda material and a video of him reciting a manifesto was discovered among his possessions.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :vuodenkuva1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :vuodenkuva2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Finnish Prosecutor Seeks Life Term for Moroccan Knife Attacker". The New York Times. 27 February 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018. Bouanane was a "lone wolf" who saw himself as a soldier for the Islamic State militant group, according to the police. ISIS did not take responsibility for the act. [--] The case is the Nordic country's first terrorism-related attack.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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