Islamist terror threat “higher than it has been for a long time”

According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the threat of Islamist terrorist attacks in Germany is currently significantly higher than in recent years – also because of the Gaza war. “The risk of jihadist attacks is higher than it has been for a long time,” said the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang. According to him, the security authorities are increasingly processing corresponding reports.

The head of the domestic intelligence service cites various reasons for the increased risk of attacks – including those by self-radicalized individuals. The Islamist Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan has promoted the jihadist idea as a whole. Another factor is the strengthening of the terrorist militia Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK), especially in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Haldenwang further said that Koran burnings in Scandinavia and the Israeli military operation against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip had also contributed to “setting radicalization spirals in motion”.

Haldenwang: “The situation in the Middle East after the terrorist attack by Hamas is definitely another reason for the worsening threat posed by Islamist terrorism.” It is also clear: “Germany is more in the focus of jihadists than other European countries because our country is considered one of Israel’s most important supporters alongside the USA.”

At the end of May, a 25-year-old Afghan man injured five participants in a rally by the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and a police officer in Mannheim with a knife. The 29-year-old officer, Rouven Laur, later died of his injuries. Investigators suspect an Islamist extremist motive for the crime.

Last Friday, a suspected supporter of the Islamic State was arrested at Cologne/Bonn Airport. The man, who has a German-Moroccan-Polish passport, is said to have transferred money to the terrorist organization and applied to work as a steward for European Championship events.

His agency has never underestimated the threat posed by Islamist terrorism, but has instead repeatedly pointed out “that the security situation is very tense,” said the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. It is currently hardly possible to name the greatest threat to security, he added.

“We are currently dealing with a triad: the threat posed by Islamist terrorism, the social climate that is heated up by right-wing extremism and xenophobia and hostility towards Muslims, and the influence and espionage activities of foreign states.” Added to this is the threat posed by increasingly violent left-wing extremism.