Русская версияJoerg Ziercke, head of the Federal Criminal Police (BKA), told
Der Tagesspiegel
newspaper that more than 50 militants had traveled from Germany to
training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan run by the Taliban, al
Qaeda and the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU).
When asked by the German
daily if it was safe for the nation to breathe easy again, Ziercke
said that he was unable to sound the all clear, as Germany has
repeatedly eluded catastrophe by a mere hair's breadth.
"Considering the statements from al Qaeda and the IJU, we are
convinced it has been decided to mount attacks in Germany," he
said. "However, there is currently no concrete evidence of imminent
strikes."
900 Hezbollah supporters
The interview with Ziercke came on the heels of a secret report
release by the BKA saying that the Lebanese-based Hezbollah
movement has the capacity to undertake damaging attacks in Germany.
The German weekly
Focus
reported that the militia had the logistics to carry out
wide-scale attacks on physical and human targets.
The BKA is reported to number Hezbollah supporters in Germany at
around 900.
Focus
pointed to the case of a 29-year-old medical student at Germany's
Goettingen University, who was detained in Israel last month. It
reported the man was suspected of making contact with Hezbollah
supporters in Germany and of having received $20,000 (13,300 euros)
for espionage work.
Germany
untouched so far
In contrast to European neighbors such as Spain or Britain, Germany
has not suffered a major recent attack on its own soil. But Ziercke
said German investigators had foiled seven plots, including attacks
planned by three men arrested in the western Sauerland region last
year who authorities believe were targeting US installations in
Germany.
Altogether, there are currently 200 investigations linked to
Islamic terrorism being conducted by the BKA, Ziercke told
Tagesspiegel
, saying that the danger has therefore in no way diminished.
"A single-digit number of militants had returned to Germany from
the training camps and were among around 100 suspects considered a
threat," he said.
(Deutsche Welle)
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