Police and Government Disagree Over Whether Migrants Are a Terror Threat or Not

The German Federal government has warned Germans not to suspect migrants of being terrorists, yet the Federal police warn that migrants have increased the threat of terrorism.

After a wave of attacks by migrant teenage Muslims the German Federal government is warning its citizens not to suspect migrants of having links to terrorism.

Deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer came out on Monday in Berlin saying: “Most terrorists who have committed attacks in recent months in Europe were not refugees,” adding, “This finding is consistent with recent studies, according to which the threat of terrorism is no greater and no less than in the general population,” Die Welt reports.

However, the German Federal police (BKA) have a much different view of migrants and their links to terrorism. According to the BKA the number of terror suspects among the over one million strong migrant population has dramatically increased and that number will continue to grow.

A spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry said that it didn’t want to make any rash decisions based on the data, but confirmed that there have been 400 reports from asylum centres and social workers regarding possible radical Islamic links among migrants or strange behaviour that might warrant further investigation.

So far, 59 migrants are being actively investigated by the BKA as having being involved in terrorist networks. The number of potential terrorists, according to the Interior Ministry, could actually be much larger and though there are no accurate statistics, they estimate the number to be over 500.

The failed bombing outside a music festival in Ansbach is just the latest in a week of terrorism centred around the southern German region of Bavaria. Prime Minister of Bavaria and main coalition partner of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Horst Seehofer, expressed anger at the attacker and sympathy for the victims saying: “Our thoughts are with the injured of the treacherous and brutal bombing in Ansbach.”

Mr. Seehofer has been a critic of Chancellor Merkel’s migrant policies and has been an advocate for more secure borders since the start of the crisis.

The news of migrants being suspected of terrorism comes as no shock for many experts and law enforcement officials in Europe. The European police agency Europol has warned of the potential for Islamic State fighters to sneak into Europe via the migrant crisis. Some Islamic State fighters, including a commander of the terror group, have already been caught in asylum homes.