BILD’s Russian Service reported on January 16 that the Islamic State (IS) terror group’s affiliate "Wilayat Khorasan" (The Islamic State – Khorasan Province, or IS-K) has published on its platform a list of potential targets for attacks this year: Oktoberfest in Munich, the Venice Carnival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Vienna Opera Ball. The terror threat was reportedly released a few days ago.
This IS affiliate claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in March of the previous year.
A member of the German Federal Intelligence Service explained why the threat should be taken seriously.
“The terrorist organization wants to instill fear and terror by publicly naming major events and public festivals as potential targets. We are facing a dilemma: of course, we do not want to create panic, but we must honestly warn, because the risk of a terrorist attack remains as high as before. Unfortunately, we even have to acknowledge that after recent attacks, this probability has increased,” he said.
The publication notes that "Wilayat Khorasan" previously established terrorist cells in Germany disguised as refugee groups from Ukraine.
“Fortunately, security agencies were able to uncover and prevent their attack plans. For example, a year ago, during the Christmas and New Year period, Islamists – citizens of Tajikistan – planned to attack Cologne Cathedral and St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna,” writes BILD.
"Seven dangerous Islamists are now on trial for planning attacks on Jews, liberal Muslims, and a Christmas market in Germany. It is believed that they were secretly smuggled from Tajikistan into Western Europe as a terrorist cell. They have been charged with forming and being members of an internal terrorist organization. According to the German prosecution, they formed 'an isolated and conspiratorial Islamist-jihadist organization.”
According to an investigation by the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany, the terrorism suspects aimed to “carry out high-profile attacks in Germany and Western Europe to further the goals and objectives of ISIS. For this, they even wanted to behead 'the infidel' as a form of intimidation,” notes the German publication.
The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS–K) is a regional branch of the Salafi terror group Islamic State (IS) active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. IS–K seeks to destabilize and replace current governments within the historic Khorasan region with the goal of establishing a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which they plan to expand beyond the region.
IS–K is responsible for numerous attacks of targeting civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, predominately against Shia Muslims, politicians, and government employees.
