US military helps thwart a terror plot in Trinidad and Tobago

Carnival J'ouvert in Trinidad and Tabogo. CNN.

The United States military has helped local authorities disrupt a plot targeting a carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. CNN. Four "high value" targets have been captured by local police with no American troops being involved in combat. The threat was targeting the local Carnival celebrations in Trinidad. Both the US and UK issued warnings despite the terror raid that attacks are possible and that people should exercise caution. Despite the fact that Trinidad and Tobago is in the Caribbean they have a major problem with Islamic extremism. 130 Trinidadians have joined ISIS in Iraq and Syria. 

My Comment:

First of all, I apologize for using CNN as a source. Normally I want nothing to do with them but in this case there weren't any other sources covering this story outside of local news. With those circumstances I will use CNN as a source but I don't like doing so. Outside of these very specific circumstances I won't be using them for anything. 

As for the story itself, it's pretty clear that a major terror attack was broken up. Attacking a carnival like that would probably result in multiple casualties and deaths. It really depends on what the attackers were planning. A mass shooting could have killed quite a few people but a bombing or ramming attack could have killed even more. 

It's unclear what kind of attack this was. I would assume getting weapons and/or explosives would be difficult in Trinidad and Tobago. I think a vehicle ramming attack would be much more likely. We have seen how horrible a ramming terror attack can be. The attack in Nice was in similar circumstances and I could see something similar happening here. Still, it's not like we can rule out a mass shooting or bombing. 

And I also have to point out that the Carnival is a huge deal in Trinidad and Tobago. It's a semi-religious holiday similar to Fat Tuesday or Marti Gras in America. To attack it is to attack the culture and heritage of Trinidad and Tobago itself. This goes way beyond targeting a major festival, it's targeting the most important event in the country. 

It's fairly unusual to think that Trinidad and Tobago is a hotbed of terrorism. When you think of Islamic terrorism you think of Syria or Iraq, not Trinidad and Tobago. Muslims are about 6% of the population so it looks like that is all you need.   

As for ISIS, it seems like they are the most likely suspect. Trinidad and Tobago has a long history of people joining terrorist groups. More than 100 have joined ISIS which is a huge number for a country that only has 1.3 million people. I guess it could have been al-Qaeda as well, but ISIS is much more likely. 

ISIS has been fairly quiet lately. They have been hugely disrupted and have lost almost all of their holdings and that has prevented them from carrying out many terror attacks. Core ISIS as a force is spent and they are a lot less able to pull off major attacks. This attack may have been one of their last gasps or it might have been one just inspired by them. Either way it is fortunate that it was broken up.