Brussels, 30/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - A French judge specialising in anti-terrorism, Jean-Louis Bruguière, said that the war in Iraq had had a “very negative” effect on the fight against terrorism in Europe and had directly contributed to a surge in suicide attacks, such as the 2005 attack in London. On Sunday during a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which ended on 30 May in Paris, Mr Bruguière said, “The Iraq war was an event which gave new breath and strength to Islamic terrorism…Iraq is a black hole”. According to Bruguière, the war has directly contributed in both Iraq and Europe to the recruitment of new followers and the radicalisation of the movement. Mr Bruguière added that, “until then, we had known actors but the whole landscape has changed”. He also affirmed that the most notable result was the radicalisation of the concept of the “Martyr” and the increasing use of human shields and suicide bombers, often women with no previous connection to the Islamic terror movements. Mr Bruguière said that, “suicide attacks are almost impossible to protect against…this is an evolution which is very worrying”. He concluded that the emergence of new radical terrorists in Europe with no criminal past, who can move almost at will around the continent, was a particular danger.