The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Iraqi Kurdistan warns about the threat of ISIS attacks in Europe

Interior Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan (an autonomous region in northern Iraq) Rebar Ahmed Khalid warned of the threat of Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in Europe in an interview with Tagesspiegel. “The jihadists are just waiting for the right opportunity,” he said, adding that “Germany also needs to be vigilant.”

This assessment, as Tagesspiegel writes, coincides with the opinion of German intelligence services, who are concerned about possible terrorist attacks during the European Football Championship. It will take place in ten German cities from June 14 to July 14, 2024. During the tournament, German authorities will introduce controls at the country’s borders “to be able to prevent possible violent criminals from entering the country,” Interior Minister Nancy Feser said at the end of March.

According to German security officials, members of the Afghan ISIS affiliate Vilayat Khorasan (also known as ISKP) that claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow on March 22, which killed more than 140 people, have been in Central European countries for a long time. The media writes that in December, citizens of Tajikistan were arrested in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia on suspicion of terrorism.

That same month, a Hamas member was arrested in Berlin. As Die Welt wrote, this native of Lebanon has been carrying out assignments for Palestinian militants since 2023. According to prosecutors, he was supposed to find a warehouse in the German capital, so that the members of the group could deliver weapons there for planned attacks throughout Europe.

The New York Times wrote that, according to Western intelligence services, in addition to Euro 2024, another possible target for terrorists could be the Olympic Games in Paris, to be held from July 26 to August 11. After the militant attack on Crocus, the French authorities decided to raise the level of terrorist threat to the highest one. According to BFMTV, about 2 thousand people will be involved in ensuring security at the Olympics. France asked for help from 46 countries, ESPN reported.

The United States is also concerned about possible extremist attacks. In late April, FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke of heightened concerns about coordinated attacks on public places. The intelligence had considered the likelihood of such attacks extremely low over the past decade.