Investigators observed the conspicuous travel activity of a German with roots from Tajikistan. He traveled to Vienna and later stayed temporarily in Istanbul. He was finally arrested in Germany at the end of last year. The experts in the security authorities were extremely nervous because they had recently received information from foreign services that jihadists from Central Asia connected in Europe were carrying out attacks on Cologne Cathedral on behalf of the terrorist group “Islamic State Khorasan Province” (ISPK) and planned the bombing of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. There were no concrete signs of preparations for the attack in Cologne, but to be on the safe side, the police remained present on the „Domplatte“ with a large contingent on New Year’s Eve.
The highly conspiratorial ISPK is currently the biggest Islamist threat in Western Europe, as German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) repeatedly emphasizes. After the Islamist attack on a concert hall in a Moscow suburb, the German security authorities assess the threat from Tajik IS terrorists as “abstractly high”. North Rhine-Westphalia in particular could become a “target of terrorist attacks” at any time, said the interior minister there, Herbert Reul. His warning is related to the knowledge of the German security authorities that a large proportion of the approximately 50 suspected ISPK supporters known to date in Germany are located in North Rhine-Westphalia. They are mostly asylum seekers from Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries who live in isolated small groups, which makes it extremely difficult for investigators to collect information. In addition, the security authorities only have a few translators available for Central Asian languages. It often takes a lot of time until seized chat protocols are transferred, evaluated and personal networks are uncovered.
In Western Europe there are said to be a total of 100 well-organized ISPK supporters who communicate predominantly conspiratorially in digital channels and who are often as conspicuously mobile as the 27-year-old Tajik in Germany. The European security authorities have been keeping an eye on the ISPK for a long time. So far, the German security authorities, working closely with foreign intelligence services, have managed to detect and prevent possible attacks in good time. Most recently, two Afghans were arrested in Gera who are said to have planned a terrorist attack on the Swedish parliament. In July, German security authorities, together with Dutch investigators and the European judicial cooperation agency Eurojust, were able to dismantle a suspected terrorist cell. Since then, the seven suspected ISPK supporters have been in custody – five of the men come from Tajikistan, one each from Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The Federal Court of Justice’s habeas corpus decision from the end of January shows that the men came to Germany via Ukraine after the Russian war of aggression and met at least 58 times before their arrest to discuss suitable attack targets and the technical implementation. According to investigators’ findings, the group specifically discussed an attack on a liberal mosque in Berlin. Jews were also targeted by the group. Ultimately, the attacks are said to have failed primarily due to financing. A potential backer of the group – a Chechen ISPK fighter – died in Afghanistan. The men then managed to find a new financier; a previously unidentified Chechen living in Austria. Shortly afterwards, the seven men were arrested.
The example of the arrested Tajik in Germany makes clear how important smooth intra-European cooperation is. While there was not enough evidence against him to warrant pre-trial detention, the Austrian authorities collected enough material for a European arrest warrant against the man. Unlike for Cologne Cathedral, the preparations for an attack on St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna were already concrete, which is why the investigation is being conducted in the Austrian capital. According to information from the Vienna Criminal Regional Court, four people are currently in custody in this matter: a 29-year-old Tajik and his wife, who is of Turkish descent, an approximately 40-year-old citizen of the Russian Federation and the 27-year-old Tajik from North Rhine-Westphalia. Westphalia. He is said to have filmed St. Stephen’s Cathedral “in a way that is atypical for tourists”, checked for surveillance cameras and checked the walls.
In Austria, too, the security authorities take the terrorist threat posed by the ISPK “very seriously”. But there is currently no concrete threat, said the head of the State Security and Intelligence Directorate (DSN). Three young Austrians with a migrant background from St. Pölten and Vienna were arrested in the summer of 2023 because of an allegedly planned attack on the Vienna Rainbow Parade. Media reported at the time that the three had belonged to a radical Islamist, international Telegram group with around ten participants who were associated with the ISPK. Other participants have lived in France, Turkey, Ukraine, England and Belgium. A 14-year-old participant said that the group was led by a Ukrainian who called himself “Abu Hurayrah”. “Abu Hurayrah” announced a suicide car bomb attack and urged others to do the same.
Because they were not accused of any specific preparation for the crime, the three young Austrians soon had to be released. However, according to the public prosecutor’s office, she is still being investigated on suspicion of “acts of participation in a terrorist organization in favor of the Islamic State”. The investigations are also taking a long time because of the international network.
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