The German authorities are investigating 40 cases in which Islamist extremists are believed to have entered the country in the guise of refugees. This doubles the number of such cases since December 2015, and is expected to increase security concerns in Germany. To date, the authorities have played down the risk of ISIS militants arriving with refugees. However, recently Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of domestic intelligence, said that although there were more efficient ways of smuggling fighters into Europe, ISIS had planted some as refugees arriving via the Balkan route from Greece, to both exacerbate public fears and “send a political signal”. Two of the Paris attack bombers are believed to have arrived in Europe using this route, along with two others who were delayed and later detained at a refugee centre in Salzburg in January.
The German authorities are investigating 40 cases in which Islamist extremists are believed to have entered the country in the guise of refugees. This doubles the number of such cases since January, and is expected to increase security concerns in Germany. To date, the authorities have played down the risk of ISIS militants arriving with refugees. However, recently Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of domestic intelligence, said that although there were more efficient ways of smuggling fighters into Europe, ISIS had planted some as refugees arriving via the Balkan route from Greece, to both exacerbate public fears and “send a political signal”. Two of the Paris attack bombers are believed to have arrived in Europe using this route, along with two others who were delayed and later detained at a refugee centre in Salzburg in December 2015.