Berlin: Around 1,000 potential Islamist
terrorists live in Germany, 128 of whom could be classed as
capable of carrying out attacks, Interior Minister Hans-Peter
Friedrich said on Monday.
"We have almost 1,000 people who could be described as
possible Islamist terrorists," he told Bild newspaper, adding
that 128 could be considered 'dangerous" and capable of
committing attacks.
He said that around 20 of those had received training in
camps associated with terror groups and that these individuals
were under surveillance by the country's security services.
Friedrich added that he thought there was little chance
of a repetition of the scale of the terror attack on the
United States on September 11, 2001 that brought down the twin
towers of New York's World Trade Centre.
"We dispose of a wide range of modern security methods
and we are investigating at the very heart of extremist
networks," he said.
The al Qaeda network, blamed for the New York attacks,
has been diminished by the recent death of its leader Osama
bin Laden but it still represented a threat, he added.
However, Friedrich estimated that the major danger was
posed by individuals acting alone because they are more
difficult to identify and track.
He was speaking after the opening in Germany last week of
the trial of a 21-year-old man from Kosovo who said he was
acting alone under the influence of Islamist propaganda when
he killed two US soldiers who were heading to Afghanistan by
way of Germany in March.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, September 05, 2011, 21:35