Police Chief: Islamic State Terror Threat Still High

Berlin Police president Klaus Kandt has warned that the threat of Islamic State terrorism remains high in major German cities despite the group’s losses in the Middle East, saying that the government needs structural reform to meet new challenges.

According to Kandt, the threat from Islamic State in Germany will not end with the destruction of its so-called caliphate in the Middle East and could continue to be a major security problem for at least the next decade, Die Welt reports.

“The military defeat of ISIS is one thing, but the other is calls for perpetrators to commit acts in their home countries in Europe. This topic is not settled at all,” Kandt said.

The Berlin police chief said that there would be new structural measures taken to better prevent terror attacks. “We will have to do better in this regard than before. At the moment, we are still living in a provisional solution that requires a meaningful and lasting solution,” he said.

The Christmas Market massacre, which was carried out by failed Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri in December 2016, was a turning point which, according to Kandt, saw more willingness from politicians to invest in anti-terror measures. “We also note that the social acceptance of police presence and protective measures has increased,” he added.

The number of suspects involved in terrorism offences has dramatically increased in Germany, with around half of all suspects coming from “refugee” backgrounds, according to the Heritage Foundation.

“The number of perpetrators has doubled and the image of the perpetrator has become more diverse. In addition to the long-known group structures, there are also increasingly radicalised, individual perpetrators,” Kandt said.

In October, Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Agency for the Protection of the Constitution, claimed that there are now more than 1,800 known violent Islamic extremists in the country, up 64 per cent from 2016. The number of radical Islamic extremists, in general, is thought to be over 10,000.

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