German police forces on Sunday took a 32-year-old Iranian national into custody
on suspicions of obtaining unspecified amounts of cyanide and ricin for use in
an “Islamist-motivated” terror attack after having received a tip from a
foreign intelligence agency, identified in press reports as the FBI. The
suspect’s brother was also detained.





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Germany Disrupts Suspected Terror Plot Amid Rising Islamist Threats



(New York, N.Y.) — German police forces on Sunday took a 32-year-old Iranian
national
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into custody on suspicions of obtaining unspecified amounts of cyanide and
ricin for use in an “Islamist-motivated” terror attack after having received a
tip from a foreign intelligence agency, identified in press reports as the FBI.
The suspect’s brother was also detained. It is at least the second time since
2018 that German authorities have made an arrest of a suspect planning an
attack using ricin.



Islamism continues to threaten Germany. Germany’s Federal Criminal Police
began warning as early as 2014 that the largest threat in Germany emanates from
Islamist terror attacks perpetrated by fanatic individuals or small groups.
Authorities have also noted small increases in support for the Muslim
Brotherhood and Hezbollah. By the end of 2021, the number of Islamists in
Germany stood at more than 28,000 people, a slight decrease of 1.5 percent from
2020, according to Germany’sFederal Office for the Protection of the
Constitution
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.



Authorities, however, have attempted to curb the threat of Islamist extremism
by enacting tougher legislation against Islamist extremism, prohibiting travel
outside Germany for terrorist training, putting restrictions on foreign
fighters, expanding existing laws against terrorist financing, designating
Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization, and shutting down the
Al-Mustafa Community Center, which had been promoting terrorism and support for
Hezbollah.



“The threat of Islamist extremism inside Europe, and specifically within
Germany, remains high,” said Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Advisor and
former Director of the European Union Intelligence Analysis and Situation
Centre (EU INTCEN)Dr. Gerhard Conrad
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threats from radicalized individuals, returning foreign fighters, and networks
within Germany that are closely connected to terrorist groups. It is imperative
that the German government and its European partners coordinate and continue to
work with each other and the United States to mitigate these threats and
disrupt plots before they are fully realized. This arrest may have stopped an
extreme act of violence, but it is indicative of a larger and more systemic
problem. Furthermore, it underlines once again the urgent need for adequate
operational capabilities and legal competencies for early detection and
disruption by the German intelligence and security services.”



To read CEP’s resource Germany: Extremism and Terrorism, please click here
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