Europol, the European Union police intelligence agency, warned earlier this month that lone attackers or small cells were plotting mayhem using vehicles as weapons.
Europol also pointed to reports that German authorities were aware of hundreds of attempts by jihadists to recruit refugees.
In November the United States warned its citizens it had ‘credible information’ that the Christmas markets were a target, while in the UK, the Foreign Office revised its travel advice earlier this month saying there was a ‘high threat from terrorism’ in Germany.
Islamic State militants had even published a terror manual last month containing instructions on using a lorry to inflict maximum carnage.
Their chilling Rumiyah magazine said using a vehicle was one of the most successful ways of ‘harvesting’ large numbers of non-believers.
Yet in Berlin, no concrete bollards were in place to protect revellers, with the authorities saying it would be wrong to turn the famous markets into ‘fortresses’. More here.
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The current suspect and manhunt is on for Anis Amri, who is well known to European authorities. He is from an area of Tunisia that borders Libya where Islamic State has a functioning operation cell but ISIS has been cleared from Sirte, while other areas of Libya still have ISIS fighters than do move back and forth between Tunisia and Libya.
DailyMail
Previous: Amri, who was born in the desert town of Tataouine in 1992 – a well-known ISIS stronghold close to the Libyan border – was apparently recently arrested for GBH but vanished before he could be charged. He was also found with a fake passport
DM: Amri is allegedly a disciple of Abu Walaa, arrested in Hildesheim last month for recruiting radicals into the ranks of Isis. Walaa has previously spoken at mosques in London.
He was arrested along with five members of a terrorist recruiting network operating on behalf of the so-called Islamic State, according to prosecutors.
The arrests took place in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The network is alleged recruited and provided logistical support for local volunteers making their way from Germany to Syria.
Iraqi citizen known Abu Walaa, 32, or Ahmad Abdelaziz as he is also known, is a leading figure of the movement in Germany, and many of his followers have made their way to Syria.
Walaa has been at the centre of a year-long investigation, which also yielded arrests in the city of Hildesheim in July 2016. The arrest appears to have been aided by a former IS fighter, Anil O, 22, who identified Walaa as Germany’s ISIS leader.
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November, 2016:
A group of suspected Isis supporters accused of radicalising people and sending them to fight in Syria have been arrested in Germany.
The German federal prosecutor’s office said the five men were part of a “national Salafist-jihadi network” suspected of supporting Isis.
The group’s alleged leader is a preacher known as Abu Walaa, who is the head of a group promoting an “authentic understanding of Islam” through online speeches, videos and texts.
“Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A, known as Abu Walaa, openly professes his support for the so-called Islamic State [Isis] and has appeared at numerous Salafist events in the past,” a spokesperson for federal prosecutors said.
Abu Walaa allegedly approved and organised the journeys to Syria, delegating the work to fellow suspects Mahmoud O, a 27-year-old German, and Ahmed FY, a 26-year-old Cameroonian national.
The network is known to have transported at least one man and his family to fight for Isis in Syria.
Abu Walaa preaches at the German-speaking Islamic Circle of Hildesheim mosque in the city of Hildesheim, where he was arrested on Tuesday as police launched coordinated raids in the states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The mosque was previously raided by counter-terror police in July, but no arrests were made. More here from IndependentUK.
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Meanwhile, the FBI has a counter-terrorism office in Berlin and has been working diligently with intelligence professionals there under a specialized division known as the ‘Fly Team’.
And in 2010, the Department of Homeland Security posted a bulletin. The full distribution and published in the public domain including the news has been a failure.
Terrorists overseas have suggested conducting vehicle ramming attacks—using modified or unmodified vehicles—against crowds, buildings, and other vehicles. Such attacks could be used to target locations where large numbers of people congregate, including sporting events, entertainment venues, or shopping centers. Vehicle ramming offers terrorists with limited access to explosives or weapons an opportunity to conduct a Homeland attack with minimal prior training or experience.
(U) Indicators: Although a single indicator may not be suspicious, one or more might indicate a ramming attack is being developed, based on the specific facts or circumstances. A ramming attack can be conducted with little to no warning.
- (U//FOUO) Unusual modifications to commercial motor vehicles, heavy equipment, passenger cars, and sports utility vehicles (SUVs), such as homemade attempts to reinforce the front of the vehicle with metal plates.
- (U//FOUO) The purchase, rental, or theft of large or heavy-duty vehicles or equipment, such as SUVs, trucks, or commercial motor vehicles, if accompanied by typical indicators such as nervousness during the purchase, paying in cash, or lack of familiarity with the vehicle’s operations.
- (U//FOUO) Commercial motor vehicles or heavy equipment being operated erratically, at unusual times, or in unusual locations, particularly in heavy pedestrian areas.
- (U//FOUO) Attempts to infiltrate closed areas where traffic usually moves, but where crowds are gathered, such as for street festivals or farmers’ markets.
- (U//FOUO) A vehicle operator’s apparent unfamiliarity with commercial motor vehicle or heavy equipment operation (unable to back up; trouble with shifting; poor lane tracking; unfamiliarity with basic vehicle mechanics such as air brake operations, slack adjusters, fifth wheel operations, Jake brakes, engine type, or location of fire extinguishers and other emergency equipment).
