Perilous Times
17 November 2010 Last updated at 12:08 ET
Germany tightens airport security over attacks threat
Police and guard dog at Berlin's main railway station (17 November
2010) Extra security measures will remain in place until further
notice, the interior minister said
Germany is increasing security at airports and railway stations in
light of "concrete indications" of terrorist attacks being planned for
the end of November.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said it followed a tip-off from
another, unnamed country.
Germany had information on "sustained efforts" by Islamist extremists
to carry out attacks, he said.
He said the extra security would remain in place "until further notice".
"There are grounds for concern, but not for hysteria," Mr de Maiziere
told a news conference in Berlin.
The federal police force has been ordered to step up checks at airports
and train stations, he added.
Yemen connection
Mr de Maiziere said Germany had received a tip-off after two parcel
bombs were intercepted en route from Yemen to the United States last
month.
One of the bombs was despatched via the German city of Cologne but was
intercepted in the UK.
The Yemen plot showed "the adaptability and the persistence of
terrorists in pursuing their aims," Mr de Maiziere said, and also
underlines "the reliability of some leads".
Germany would not allow international terrorism to constrict its way of
life or liberal culture, he said.
Last year, twelve militants vanished from Hamburg, some to resurface in
Northern Pakistan where at least one, but not all were killed in an
American drone attack.
Some of the new security measures would be clearly visible, Mr de
Maiziere said, but others would not.
The BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin says that a month ago, Germany was
dismissive of American warnings of attacks. That feeling has now gone.
Germany, which has nearly 5,000 troops in Afghanistan, has never
experienced an attack by Muslim militants.
But officials say the country has a significant Islamist community, and
militant links to Germany appear to be growing.
For example, the key operatives who carried out the 9/11 attacks on the
US in 2001 were based in Hamburg. In July 2006 militants placed
suitcases with homemade bombs on two trains at Cologne station. They
failed to detonate.