Saturday 17 January 2015

Europe on high alert over terrorist threat

A member of the special German anti-terror police outside an apartment block in Perleberger Strasse, Berlin
Guns, munitions and explosives, as well as police uniforms and a large amount of money, were all seized by police overnight.
France and Germany have joined Belgium in the hunt for terrorists
Eric Van Der Sypt, an official at the prosecutors' office, told AFP that: "The investigation... has shown that these people had the intention to kill several policemen in the street and at police commissariats [police stations]."
Thirteen people were arrested in total but only five would be prosecuted, he said. Belgium would also seek the extradition of two suspects held in France.
On Friday, the Belgian government also announced new measures to deal with terrorist suspects.
They include making travelling abroad for terrorist activities a crime and expanding the cases where Belgian citizenship can be revoked for dual nationals who are thought to pose a terror risk.
Map
French arrests
No link has been established between the terrorist plot in Belgium and last week's attacks in Paris.
But French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday that, despite this, both countries face the same threats.
"The link that exists is the will to attack our values," he said.
Twelve suspects are being held by police in the Paris region over last week's attacks in the French capital that killed 17 people.
Police carried out raids in five towns, iTele reported. Those arrested are now being questioned about "possible logistical support", such as weapons or vehicles, they could have given the three gunmen, according to police.
France remains on its highest terrorism alert level and authorities have said that some 120,000 police and soldiers have been mobilised across France.
In a separate incident on Friday, authorities shut down and evacuated the Gare de l'Est train station after a bomb scare.
French soldiers patrol the train station at LyonSecurity forces have been mobilised across France
Armed Belgian police officers guard a building of the Federal Police in Brussels, BelgiumSecurity has also been enhanced in Belgium
The incidents in France and Belgium have had a wider impact on their European neighbours.
Spain has launched an investigation into the visit of one of the Paris gunmen, Amedy Coulibaly, to Madrid just days before the attacks in Paris.
Police in Germany have also arrested two men following raids on 11 properties on Friday, involving some 250 officers.
One of the men was suspected of leading an extremist group of Turkish and Russian nationals.
Police said that the group was preparing a serious act of violence in Syria but that there was "no indication" that the group had been planning attacks inside Germany.
Potential terrorists
In the UK, police have been warned to be on their guard for a terror attack against them.
The head of Europol, Rob Wainwright, told the BBC that the need for tightened security across Europe highlighted the complex nature of the terrorist threat in the region.
"We're dealing with multiple thousands of potential terrorists," he told the BBC World Service.
He said it was hard for police to identify plans because suspects were "working in a self-radicalised way very often, not necessarily under any command and control structure".
In Washington, President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to share expertise on preventing radicalism and tackling domestic "violent extremism".
A taskforce will report back to the two leaders within six months.

Graphic
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30860064

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