Two Hundred Jihadis Have Returned to Germany, Warns Police Chief

The head of Germany's intelligence services says that the rivalry between al-Qaeda and ISIL presents an even greater danger of terrorist attacks in Europe.

Hans-Georg Maassen, president of Germany's domestic intelligence service, told the European Police Congress in Berlin on Wednesday that around 200 jihadis have already returned to Germany from Iraq and Syria, and warned of the threat of a terrorist attack on German soil, reports Der Spiegel.

"We must therefore assume that we will also be targeted by terrorist attacks, and we must adapt," said Maassen, adding that around 70 of those returnees are suspected of having committed serious offences and acts of war.

"Round-the-clock observation is hardly possible," warned the security chief of the practical difficulties of preventing individuals from carrying out attacks, but added that there were no indications of particular plans for an attack.

Terror groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda want to destabilize the West by spreading terror and fear through their terrorist attacks, said Maassen, and seek to sustain the ideology of global jihad in German and European cities.

The rivalry between al-Qaeda and the Islamic State could lead to a greater escalation of terrorist violence, cautioned the intelligence boss, as the two organizations enter into a dangerous competition of terrorism. Both groups want to recruit militant Islamists to their cause by carrying out more and more spectacular attacks, he said, adding that Germany is seen by both groups as both an enemy, and a recruiting ground.  

Tagesschau.de reports that of the estimated 600 German citizens who have traveled to conflict zones in the Middle East, around 70 are believed to now be dead, with tens of thought believed to have carried out suicide bombings. In mid-January, the German Interior Ministry gave a figure of 150-180 jihadi returnees to Germany.