German police raid properties ‘used by Islamists’

The remarks came just hours after police raided eight properties in Berlin, including a mosque association, that they suspect were being used by militants supporting fighting in Syria.

The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, warned on Tuesday that radical Islamists might be recruiting young asylum seekers to their ranks under the pretext of offering humanitarian help.

Maassen said that the number of ultra-conservative Salafist Muslims in Germany had risen to 7,900, compared with 7,500 in June.

“…Furthermore, the investigation also runs against a 19-year-old Macedonian, who is suspected to be present to participate in the armed struggle in Syria with militant jihadist groups”.

According to police, their prime suspect is a 51-year-old Moroccan man who is thought to have incited others to join jihadist groups in Syria. No arrests were made.

Deutsche Welle also reported that an association attached to a mosque in the central Tempelhof-Schöneberg district of Berlin, was among the raided buildings.

“We have no indications that anything was being planned in Germany”, he said when asked about indications of any plot to attack targets here.

In August, two German-speaking militants claiming to belong to ISIS threatened Germany with attacks in an execution video broadcast online.