A Timeline Of Terror - The Most Recent Attacks on Europe

Mourners break down at a memorial service to slain French priest, Jacques Hamel, 85, dead (Rex)

The murder of a French priest earlier this week is the latest in an increasing number of terror attacks on European soil and against Western targets.

Below is a timeline of the most prominent attacks over the past two years

May 24, 2014: Brussels Museum attack

A Belgian soldier stands guard after the deadly attack (Rex)

Four people are killed after a gunman opens fire with a Kalashnikov at the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in Brussels. Suspected gunman Mehdi Nemmouche, a French national, was arrested. He was believed to have spent a year in Syria.

January 7, 2015: Charlie Hebdo attack

A shrine for the victims of Charlie Hebdo in the Place de la Republique (Rex)

Two gunmen, brothers Saif and Cherif Kouachi, force their way into the offices of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo. They kill 11 and injure 11 others. Fleeing from the office, they infamously shoot dead a police officer, which is captured on video. The attack stuns the world and prompts the phrase ‘Je Suis Charlie’ to come into use as a show of support. Two days later, a friend of the Kouachi brothers, Amedy Coulibaly, kills four hostages in a supermarket in a Paris suburb. All three perpetrators are killed.

February 14, 2015: Copenhagen Exhibition attack

Defiant message after the attack in Copenhagen (Rex)

Two people are killed after Danish-born gunman and petty criminal Omar Adbel El-Hussein attacks an exhibition and synagogue in Copenhagen. He is killed in a shootout with police.

November 13, 2015: Paris attacks

A tribute to some of the victims of the Bataclan attack (Rex)

In a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks across the French capital, 130 people are killed and more than 360 injured. Attackers struck outside the Stade de France, where the home country was playing a friendly international football match against Germany, as well as at the Bataclan Theatre and several cafes. Seven attackers are killed and Islamic State claims responsibility. It is the worst terror attack in Europe since the Madrid train bombings in 2004, where almost 200 people died.

January 12, 2016: Istanbul tourist attack

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden leaves a floral tribute to the victims of the Istanbul attack (Rex)

Twelve German tourists are killed in a suicide attack in Istanbul, close to the city’s famous Blue Mosque. A Syrian member of Islamic State is said to have carried out the attack.

March 22, 2016: Brussels attack

A man among passengers evacuated from Brussels Airport (Rex)

Islamic State again claims responsibility after 35 people, including three attackers, are killed in the Belgian capital. The departures hall of Brussels Airport is targeted when two explosions kill 13 people. A short while later Malbeek metro station, close to the European Commission headquarters, is targeted. It is the worst ever terror attack on Belgian soil.

June 13, 2016: French police couple killed

Husband-and-wife victims Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and Jessica Schneider (Rex)

Larossi Aballa stabs and kills police officer Jean-Baptiste Salvaing as he returns to his Magnanville home, northern France, from work. Aballa then breaks into the house and kills Salvaing’s wife Jessica Schneider by slitting her throat in front of their three-year-old son, who remains unharmed. Aballa, 25, then goes onto Facebook to pledge allegiance to Islamic State. He is killed by police.

July 14, 2016: Nice lorry attack

Mourners respect a minute of silence for the Nice victims (Rex)

France suffers another major Islamist terror attack as Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel uses a 19-tonne truck to deliberately mow down people out celebrating Bastille Day on Nice’s famous Promenade des Anglais. In total, 84 people are killed and more than 300 injured by the Tunisian who is later gunned down by police. France declares three days of national mourning.

July 18, 2016: German train attack

Police officers are briefed after the axe attack (Rex)

Three people are injured after a 17-year-old Afghan refugee attacks travellers on a train in Wurzburg, central Germany with an axe. Victims include a family visiting from Hong Kong. Attacker Riaz Khan Ahmadzai is shot dead by police.

July 24, 2016: German bomb attack

The scene after a suicide bomber blew himself up (Rex)

Germany is attacked again when a suicide bomb blast in the Bavarian town of Ansbach leaves 15 people injured. Bomber Mohammad Daleel, a 27-year-old Syrian, is the only fatality. It is the first suicide bombing carried out in Germany.

July 26, 2016: French priest attack

Jacques Hamel, the elderly French priest butchered by teenage Islamic State supporters (Rex)

French priest Jacques Hamel, 85, is killed after two attackers slit his throat during Mass at his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. Another four people are taken hostage, including two nuns. The attackers are identified as Adel Kermiche, 19, born in Algeria and French-born Abdel Malik Petitjean, also 19. French president Francois Hollande said the attack was carried out in the name of Islamic State and that France was now ‘at war’ with the group.