TERROR has once again struck France, a country that has been bludgeoned by a wave of militant strikes since December 2014.

The date of the attack — July 14, the French national day — suggests a motive to strike at the heart of the identity of modern-day France.

The location — a well-known tourist spot, Nice — and the modus operandi — driving a 19-tonne truck into crowds of families and tourists — were meant to inflict maximum damage and sow the widest horror.

The identity of the killer, a French resident from Tunisia, suggests a now all-too-familiar source of violence inside France and parts of Western Europe.

What is not yet known is whether the suspect acted alone, a so-called lone-wolf attack by a disaffected individual with a petty crimes background, or if he was inspired by or coordinated with the militant Islamic State group.

Sadly, though perhaps not unsurprisingly, before the facts have been established, French President François Hollande has already vowed “real force and military action in Syria and Iraq”. France, it appears, will continue to suffer violence as its leaders struggle to understand the nature of the threat confronting the country today.

IS, whether or not it is directly responsible for the latest French atrocity, is a global menace. The colossal damage it has inflicted directly on Syria and Iraq and the violence it has sponsored or inspired in far-flung areas of the Muslim world render meaningless the claims in some Western quarters that there is an existential battle between the Western world and extremist Islam.

France has clearly suffered and in open societies the psychological impact of terror can be traumatising in ways perhaps not understood by denizens of countries more familiar with violence in their streets. Yet, it is difficult to understand how a response such as that by the French president can be helpful in the complex fight against IS.

After the horrific November 2015 Paris attacks, President Hollande made a similar vow to take the fight to IS in Syria and Iraq. IS did indeed claim the Paris attacks, but all the perpetrators were from the EU.

Surely, a two-pronged response is needed: domestically, for European countries to examine the causes for their own citizens turning against their countrymen; internationally, for a concerted response, including by the leading Muslim countries, in the fight against IS.

Anything less and the so-called clash of civilisations that the terrorists are hoping to trigger may inadvertently become a reality.

For Pakistan, still contending with its own terrorism and insurgency problems, there are no easy lessons from the Nice carnage.

IS has not made its presence felt inside Pakistan in a significant way yet; but as the French attacks demonstrate, there is much chaos that can be caused by even a few individuals. So, counterterrorism operations must continue, but counter-extremism should be taken up with vigour too.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2016