There have been 18 crimes since 2010
BKA prevents several Islamist attacks
December 12, 2023, 2:39 p.m
In the wake of warnings about the increasing threat to the security situation in Germany, the Federal Criminal Police Office is also demonstrating its successes. Since 2010, more than a dozen Islamist terrorist attacks have been prevented.
A total of 18 Islamist terrorist attacks have been prevented in Germany since 2010. This was announced by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Wiesbaden. “Since 2010, 18 cases within the BKA have been classified as Islamist-motivated attacks prevented by law enforcement authorities,” the authority said.
According to the BKA, a total of nine attacks were thwarted in North Rhine-Westphalia. These included a planned explosive attack and a planned firearm attack in 2011, a planned explosive and firearm attack on the chairman of the Pro NRW party in 2013 and a planned explosive attack against Bundeswehr soldiers in 2016/2017. In 2018, a planned attack using ricin in Cologne and in 2019/2020 suspected preparations for attacks, particularly against an individual, were thwarted. According to the information, in 2021 a planned gun attack in Duisburg or the Cologne area as well as a planned explosive attack on a synagogue in Hagen were prevented, and in 2023 the planning of an attack on people in Germany using toxic substances such as ricin or cyanide.
In Hesse, according to the BKA, a planned explosive attack in the Frankfurt area against a Shiite mosque, police officers and a nightclub in 2018 and the planning of an explosive and firearm attack in the Offenbach and Frankfurt am Main area in 2019 were prevented. Two attacks were also prevented in Hamburg: in 2021, the planning of an explosives and firearms attack in Hamburg and in 2023, the planning of a suicide attack using an explosive belt, presumably on a church in Sweden.
Essential information from abroad
An Islamist terrorist attack could therefore take place in Saxony (2016: planned explosive attack in Chemnitz), Lower Saxony (2017: planned explosive attack against soldiers/police officers), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (2017: planned explosive attack in Schwerin), Schleswig-Holstein (2019: planned explosive attack in connection with a firearm attack and/or a vehicle) and in Berlin (2019: planning of an explosive attack).
According to the BKA, the authority originally received significant information from abroad about seven of these foiled attacks. In addition to the prevented attacks, the federal and state security authorities became aware of a large number of indications of possible Islamist-motivated terrorist attack planning. The planning in these cases could have been stopped at an early stage due to official measures. They were therefore not included in the count of prevented attacks.
The BKA warns of a threat to the security situation in Germany as a result of the Middle East conflict. Especially if the situation worsens, “individuals in Germany and Europe in particular could see the development as a trigger for an act and subjectively perceived encouragement for an attack,” it said. The BKA is intensively observing and analyzing the current situation and the threat level and is coordinating with the federal and state security authorities in order to be able to take appropriate precautions and prepare security measures.