Friday, May 13, 2016

More Islamists heading from Germany to Syria and Iraq

(Berlin) At least 820 Islamists have left Germany to join jihadists inside  Syria and Iraq, according to the German domestic security agency (BfV) , which has voiced concerns about the rapid radicalization of minors after two recent attacks .

 Police in April arrested two 16-year-olds over an explosion that wounded three people at a Sikh temple, in what was believed to be an Islamist motivated attack against an Indian wedding party at a temple in the western city of Essen.

 In the other attack,a 15-year-old girl stabbed a policeman in the neck in Hanover in February. German prosecutors said she was carrying out an operation for the Islamic State jihadist group.

The BfV has sought authorization to collect and store personal data about under-16s who are suspected of extremism. Among the 820 who have left Germany, about a third have returned while about 140 have been killed in Syria or Iraq. The intelligence agency last September said 740 Islamists had travelled to the conflict zones.