More than 100 German Islamist insurgents are ready to attack in Europe－Berthoud blog

German police and security experts believe that the radical Muslim communities, such as the Hamburg mosque linked to the 11-S in the U.S., have trained about 100 militants for attacks, which represents a major threat security.

The deaths of eight militants, including five Germans, in an alleged attack by U.S. drones in Pakistan have highlighted the growing number of trained jihadists from Germany and are now back in Europe and could carry out attacks.

While the German Government has downplayed the latest U.S. warnings United Kingdom of an increased risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, accusing them of "scaremongering", the police see a growing threat from militants trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan border.

With documents indicating the Berlin famous places as possible targets, including the Brandenburg Gate and the Fernsehturm (TV tower), the principal chief of the German police union has warned: "We expect attacks."

"The number of dangerous Islamists (in Germany) around 100", has said Konrad Freiberg, president of the union, told the Passauer Neue Presse, adding that about 40 have been trained in handling explosives. "This is very dangerous for us," he said.
Travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan

U.S. and European counterterrorism officials have indicated that concerns about a group of about 100 Islamists who have traveled between Germany and Pakistan's tribal border areas have contributed to the latest security alert in Europe.

The security services keep a close eye on Islamist insurgents in Germany, especially those linked to a mosque in Hamburg, which was attended by Mohammed Atta, the leader of the group that carried out the attacks on America on 11 September 2001.

In August, the German police closed the mosque Taiba, which was formerly known as the Mosque of Al-Quds, saying it had links to armed groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Germany is very sensitive for historical reasons to show any signs of prejudice against the Muslim community consists of about 4 million people, most of whom are of Turkish origin.

However, while the police union may have an interest in exaggerating the risks and Freiberg notes that monitoring of these people throughout the day is "impossible because of staff shortages, a similar warning came from a senior official early September.

The head of the BKA Federal Crime Office, Joerg Ziercke, said the newspaper Tagespiegel on 5 September that the number of insurgents living in Germany could raise the 400, some of which teeth in the battlefield in Afghanistan.
"Hamburg Travel Group"

The police has registered an increase "in travel and attempts to travel of members of Islamist circles prone to violence" since 2009 and Germany has classified a total of 131 people "as possible masterminds" who could carry out attacks "of considerable magnitude."

A German Islamist detained and interrogated by U.S. troops in Afghanistan has revealed a great number of details about planned attacks against targets in Germany and Europe. The Berlin government said Monday that it had been in contact with him and would now be questioned by German intelligence.

The media identified him as Ahmed Siddiqi, a German of Afghan origin, although the German government has not confirmed this information, nor whether it is behind the U.S. security alert

Terrorism expert Guido Steinberg noted that the German security services had identified the militants known as the "Hamburg Travel Group, which includes 11 people who left Germany in March 2009 to fight U.S. . and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Steinberg noted that other groups of Bonn and Berlin, who also left Germany between 2008 and 2011, joining the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and traveled to Waziristan and the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The IMU emerged in the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan and has also fought in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan, with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate. The Hamburg cell would, in part, an element of the IMU, according to Steinberg.