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28th Mar 2024

Germany on terrorist alert after 'tip-off'

  • German police will be 'more visible', says de Maiziere (Photo: Antje Wildgrube)

German authorities on Wednesday (17 November) strengthened security measures at airports and train stations after receiving what they called "concrete indications" of terrorist attacks being planned in the country for the end of the month.

"The security situation in Germany has become more serious ... From today, there will be a visible police presence," German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told a snap press conference held in Berlin.

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"We have concrete indications of a series of attacks planned for the end of November," he addded, while also warning against "hysteria" and stressing that the enhanced security should not alter people's daily routine.

In addition to beefed up security in German airports and train stations, heightened checks on the extrenal borders of Europe's border-free Schengen zone may also take place, he said.

The EU commission and the Belgian EU presidency were not informed in advance of Berlin's decision. A spokewoman for the Belgian minister of interior said so far no co-ordination meeting was scheduled and work was being done to pool information on security measures at airports for a possible joint meeting of EU transport and interior ministers.

Mr de Maiziere's announcement marks an apparent u-turn after Germany came under criticism for downplaying as "alarmist" a travel alert issued by the US on the EU in September.

Germany's relaxed posture was shortly after challenged by the Yemeni and Greek mail bomb attempts, raising questions about German security standards at airports. The Yemeni plot, which involved powerful explosives hidden in printer cartriges, were shipped via a cargo plane which passed through the Cologne airport before being detected in Britain. If successful, the plot could have detonated the plane above Chicago.

The second incident was a direct threat to Chancellor Angela Merkel - ba booby trap sent from Athens via air mail, which made it all the way to the administrative building adjacent to Ms Merkel's office, where it was detonated by security forces.

The Yemen plot points to "the adaptability and the persistence of terrorists in pursuing their aims," Mr de Maiziere said on Wednesday. It also underlines "the reliability of some leads."

It was in the follow-up to the same Yemen plot that "a foreign partner" tipped off Berlin about the planned attacks for end of November, he explained. "Since the middle of 2010, the security services have noticed increased indications that the terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda has been planning attacks in the United States, in Europe and in Germany," he said.

"We now have more details and indications of danger ... It is the unanimous assessment of the security services that we are currently dealing with a new situation."

Earlier this month, German police arrested a man over videos published on the Internet threatening bomb attacks unless an Islamist jailed earlier this year is released, authorities added.

EU anti-terrorism czar Gilles de Kerchove has repeatedly warned of the danger of home-grown terrorism, citing concerns of German intelligence officials about German citizens going to training camps in Pakistan and then returning to the country to mount attacks.

One such German suspect, captured in late summer while on his way back to Europe, reportedly told US forces in Afghanistan that several teams of attackers, all with European passports, had been trained and dispatched from training camps in Waziristan and Pakistan. He also claimed that the plan had been approved by Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.

Germans recruited by Al-Qaeda were also involved in the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

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