BKA prevents several Islamist attacks
In the wake of warnings about the increasing threat to the security situation in Germany, the Federal Criminal Police Office is also demonstrating its successes. Since 2010, more than a dozen Islamist terrorist attacks have been prevented.
A total of 18 Islamist terrorist attacks have been prevented in Germany since 2010. This was announced by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Wiesbaden. "Since 2010, 18 cases within the BKA have been classified as Islamist-motivated attacks prevented by law enforcement authorities," the agency explained.
According to the BKA, a total of nine attacks were foiled in North Rhine-Westphalia. These included a planned explosives attack and a planned firearms attack in 2011, a planned explosives and firearms attack on the chairman of the pro NRW party in 2013 and a planned explosives attack against Bundeswehr soldiers in 2016/2017. In 2018, a planned attack with ricin in Cologne and in 2019/2020 suspected preparations for attacks against an individual in particular were foiled. In 2021, a planned firearms attack in Duisburg or in the Cologne area and a planned explosives attack on a synagogue in Hagen were reportedly prevented, and in 2023 the planning of an attack on people in Germany using toxic substances such as ricin or cyanide.
In Hesse, according to the BKA, a planned explosives attack in the Frankfurt area against a Shiite mosque, police officers and a nightclub was prevented in 2018 and the planning of an explosives and firearms attack in the Offenbach and Frankfurt am Main area in 2019. Two attacks were also prevented in Hamburg: the planning of an explosives and firearms attack in Hamburg in 2021 and the planning of a suicide attack using an explosive belt, presumably on a church in Sweden, in 2023.
Significant evidence from abroad
Accordingly, one Islamist terrorist attack was foiled in Saxony (2016: planned explosives attack in Chemnitz), Lower Saxony (2017: planned explosives attack against soldiers/police officers), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (2017: planned explosives attack in Schwerin), Schleswig-Holstein (2019: planned explosives attack in connection with a firearms attack and/or a vehicle attack) and Berlin (2019: planning of an explosives attack).
According to the BKA, the authority originally received significant information from abroad about seven of these thwarted attacks. In addition to the thwarted attacks, the federal and state security authorities were also made aware of a large number of indications of possible Islamist-motivated terrorist attack plans. The plans in these cases could have been prevented at an early stage thanks to measures taken by the authorities. They were therefore not included in the count of prevented attacks.
The BKA warns of a threat to the security situation in Germany as a result of the Middle East conflict. Particularly if the situation worsens, "individuals in Germany and Europe in particular could see the development as a subjective encouragement to carry out an attack," it said. The BKA is intensively monitoring and analyzing the current situation and the threat level and is coordinating with the federal and state security authorities in order to take appropriate precautions and prepare security measures.
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The BKA's preventative measures have also thwarted attacks beyond Germany's borders, such as the planning of a suicide attack using an explosive belt, presumably on a church in Sweden, in 2023, which was uncovered through significant evidence from abroad. The increasing threat of terrorism from Islamist movements has led the BKA to intensify its monitoring and analysis, warning of individuals in Germany and Europe being encouraged to carry out attacks if the Middle East conflict worsens.
Source: www.ntv.de
