Interior Minister Faeser blames the terrorist group ISPK for the attack near Moscow. This is also the biggest Islamist threat in Germany. According to the minister, measures have already been taken against the IS offshoot.
After the serious attack near Moscow with more than 130 deaths, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) currently believes Islamists were the perpetrators. “Based on everything that is known so far, it can be assumed that the terrorist group ‘Islamic State Khorasan Province’ is responsible for the murderous terrorist attack near Moscow,” she told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Khorasan represents a historical region in Central Asia that included parts of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Iran. The ISPK terrorist group originated in Afghanistan. In the past, the organization has stated that it also wants to carry out attacks in Europe.
Faeser names the dangerous situation
The Interior Minister now said that this group is currently the greatest Islamist threat in Germany. “The danger from Islamist terrorism remains acute.” It was only on Tuesday that the Federal Prosecutor’s Office had two suspected Islamists from the IS offshoot arrested in the Gera area in Thuringia. They are said to have planned an attack on the Swedish parliament.
The greatly increased protective measures taken by the security authorities in Cologne around Christmas and New Year’s Eve were also aimed at protecting against possible attacks by the “Islamic State Khorasan Province”, said Faeser. “The Islamist scene is the focus of the BKA, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the state security authorities.”
Faeser condemned the attack near Moscow. “We mourn with the families of the many innocent victims of this cowardly and brutal terrorist attack,” she said. “This attack, like the recent bomb attack in the Iranian city of Kerman, shows how seriously the global threat posed by Islamist terror should be taken.”
IS claims responsibility for attack
Masked attackers broke into the packed Crocus City Hall in the northwest Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk on Friday evening and opened fire. The terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) had already claimed responsibility for the crime on Saturday night.
According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the number of deaths rose to at least 133 on Saturday. It was the most serious attack in Russia in over 20 years. The Russian authorities assume that the number of victims will continue to rise. More than 150 people were injured in the attack.