Worry
about Germany’s “terrorism export”
Translated from German by Claire Vaux
The original appeared on the Tagesschau website
As a
teenager, he played football in Germany’s Ruhr region. This year, as a
21-year-old, it is reported that he blew himself up in Bagdad. According
to research undertaken by various German media channels, this man’s supposed
attack is not an isolated case. The German government refers to it as a
worrying development.
Volkmar
Kabisch and Christian Baars reporting for NDR:
Ahmet C.
looks into the camera, slightly tensed up. He is wearing the football strip of
a local team from Germany’s southern Ruhr region. It’s there that he spent
years playing football as an adolescent. According to his friends and the
authorities, he is also in another picture, taken in the middle of this year:
the 21-year-old has a red and white scarf over his face and he is in Iraq,
sitting in a camp belonging to the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS).
In his right hand he holds a gun and he has an explosive belt around his body.
A few
days later, horrific images are circulated worldwide. Ahmed C. apparently blew
himself up at a checkpoint in southern Bagdad. 54 people were killed, including
many schoolchildren. The family of Ahmet C. does not believe that he was the
attacker. Nevertheless, the regional authorities in Germany see it as “highly
likely” that this attack was carried out by Ahmed C.
This IS propaganda image depicts an attack on 19/07/2014.
It apparently shows the supposed attack by Ahmed C.
Evidently not an isolated case
According
to research undertaken by the German TV channels NDR and WDR, as well as the Süddeutsche
Zeitung, the attack that Ahmed C supposedly carried out is not an isolated
case. In Iraq and Syria, IS is increasingly focusing on using western suicide
bombers, many of whom come from Germany. They often give themselves the
nickname “Al Almani”, as was the case with Ahmet C. A total of five cases are
confirmed; four more are being verified.
According
to the estimations of western intelligence services, IS specifically uses men
from Europe for suicide attacks, partly for propaganda purposes. Since the
beginning of March, the number of attacks carried out by Europeans is reported
to have quadrupled. “They are specifically recruited and are more brutal than
the Arabs”, the spokesperson for the Iraqui forces, General Kassem Atta, told
German media channels.
“Abused, used as cannon fodder”
According
to Ralf Jäger, the Minister of the Interior for North Rhine-Westphalia, Ahmed
C. is a typical example of these Jihad fighters. “They become radicalised very
quickly here because they are looking for orientation and values and they are
susceptible to extremist ideologies.” Once they arrive, they are pressured into
carrying out suicide attacks. “They get abused, used as cannon fodder”, says Mr
Jäger.
It seems
that one of the men responsible for pressuring the young men into suicide
attacks could soon be arrested. The suspected IS official has admitted to
transporting one young German to the location of his attack. The IS member who
has been arrested also made a statement saying that he met three more Germans
in an IS house in Fallujah who were still awaiting deployment.
Concern in Berlin
The
national government and intelligence personnel are visibly worried about the
growing number of suicide bombers from Germany. Interior Minister Thomas de
Maizière said the following in response to media enquiries: “We don’t want
death being imported into Iraq from Germany. The export of terror is
intolerable and must be prevented.”
Hans-Georg
Maaßen, the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the
Constitution said: “We are keeping watch of the security situation in Germany
but we also have a responsibility towards those people living in Syria and
Iraq.” Additionally, Burkhard Freier, the head of the Office for the Protection
of the Constitution in North Rhine-Westphalia, said: “We must prevent radicals
from leaving the country so they don’t carry out suicide attacks.”
For more on this topic, see:
- http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/09/22/Daily-Jihad-Pre-Adolescent-Children-Leaving-Germany-To-Fight-For-Islamic-State
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/20/germany-muslims-islamic-state_n_5852342.html
Translated with love (and not for profit) for anyone interested
and especially for Ho-Ting Chung
Not to be reproduced without permission
