Police Identify More Than 1,100 Islamists In Terror ‘Scene’

More than 1,100 Islamists in Germany have been identified as belonging to the country’s terrorist “scene”, a report has revealed. The Federal Criminal Police (BKA), also noted that, by the end of last year, 780 German passport holders had gone to fight with terror groups in Syria.

The BKA revealed that since then, 40 more people have left Germany for Syria, 130 are thought to have died in combat, and numerous fighters have returned to Germany.

The report, kept confidential for several months, estimated that there are 45,120 Islamists living in Germany. Of these, 1,100 have been identified by police as members of the country’s “terrorist scene” and another 499 classified as “troublemakers”. Those on the list of “troublemakers” are kept under monitoring, as police believe they pose a risk to the public.

The Attorney General is currently investigating almost 120 cases involving more than 180 suspects, accused and defendants, in connection with the war in Syria. The majority of these involve trying suspects for supporting terrorist organisations such as Islamic State and Jabhat al Nusra.

Two weeks ago, defendant Harry S. was sentenced for taking part in Islamic State propaganda videos. One of these, taken in the ancient city of Palmyra, showed Islamists murdering several prisoners. In the video, Harry S. held an Islamic State flag and called Chancellor Merkel a “dirty b****”.

The judge sentenced Harry S. to three years in jail, after the 27 year old told the court he had not killed anyone.

The country’s head of domestic intelligence, Torsten Voss, warned that increasing numbers of radicalised women now also pose a threat to Germany. At a Hanover railway station in March, a 15-year old girl near fatally stabbed an officer in the neck. It emerged that the girl carried out the Islamic State-inspired attack out of frustration at being unable to join the terrorist group in Syria.

Since taking in more than a million migrants last year, mostly from the Middle East and North Africa, German police have warned they are unprepared for terrorist attacks. In April the country was on high alert after Islamic State urged Muslims in Germany to carry out large-scale terrorist attacks like those in Paris and Brussels.