Terror threat to Germany
IS calls on “lone wolves” to carry out attacks in Europe
March 29, 2024, 9:49 a.m
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A week after the deadly attack near Moscow, the Islamic State (IS) announces further terror. In an audio message, the extremists address the “lone wolves” in Europe and the USA. They are called upon to “attack Christians and Jews everywhere” during Ramadan.
The terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) has announced global attacks on Jews and Christians. In a 40-minute audio message released on Thursday, IS spokesman Abu Hudhaifah al-Ansari calls on the movement’s “lone wolves” to “attack and target Crusaders (Christians) and Jews everywhere,” especially during the current fasting month of Ramadan in Europe and the USA as well as in the heart of the Jewish state and in Palestine. The message was published via the IS media portal al-Furkan.
After the attack on a concert hall near Moscow with over 140 deaths and the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) claiming responsibility for the crime, the federal government classified the terrorist threat in this country as “acute”. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that the suspected IS offshoot is “currently the biggest Islamist threat in Germany.” “The danger from Islamist terrorism remains acute,” Faeser continued. “The Islamist scene is the focus of the BKA, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the state security authorities.”
Terrorism expert Peter Neumann also sees a “quite significant” terrorist threat in Germany and Western Europe. Since the beginning of the Gaza war in October, there has been a huge “mobilization of Islamists, of jihadists everywhere in Western Europe,” Neumann said on Deutschlandfunk. Three or four attacks were prevented in Germany. Now there is also “the ISPK, that is, this branch of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, Central Asia,” which is “very ambitiously and aggressively attempting attacks in non-Muslim foreign countries, including in Western Europe.”
The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK) group has its origins in Afghanistan. Khorasan represents a historical region in Central Asia that included parts of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan as well as Iran. These are some of the dangers that come together here, “where I say that the greatest current terrorist threat in Germany, in Europe, is now again from the Islamist, jihadist side,” said Neumann.
Worst attack in Russia in years
The Afghan IS offshoot ISPK claimed responsibility for the attack near Moscow. Last Friday evening, attackers armed with assault rifles opened fire on visitors to the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow and set a fire there. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, a total of 143 people were killed. According to reports, around 200 people were injured, some of them seriously. The search for missing people in the burned-out and partially collapsed concert hall has now been discontinued. It is the worst attack in Russia in years.
The Russian Investigative Committee announced on Thursday that it had arrested another suspect in connection with the attack. He was involved in financing the attack. The investigators would request custody for him. According to official information, a total of eleven people had previously been arrested, including the four suspected attackers. Eight of them are in custody.
IS commemorates the proclamation of the caliphate
The four alleged main perpetrators appeared before the judge on Sunday evening. There were injuries on their bodies that indicated torture by Russian security forces. They had severely swollen faces, lacerations and bruises. One had a large bandage on his ear. Another was no longer able to walk on his own and reportedly temporarily lost consciousness. He was wheeled on a stretcher to the courtroom where the arrest warrants were issued. Videos had previously appeared on social networks showing that the suspected attackers were tortured and one of them had his ear cut off.
In his video message, IS spokesman Al-Ansari also recalled the proclamation of the so-called IS caliphate ten years ago. At that time, the militia was in control of large areas of civil war-torn Syria and neighboring Iraq. The extremists have now lost their territory again. However, IS cells are still active in both countries.