- German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said ‘security will be paramount’ at Euros
The terror threat in the heart of Europe has reached new heights following the Moscow attack, officials have warned, with additional security measures being taken as England football fans prepare to fly to Germany for Euro 2024 this summer.
Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), an offshoot of ISIS, last week claimed responsibility for the deadly assault on the Crocus City Hall entertainment complex in Russia’s capital, which saw nearly 140 slaughtered and hundreds more injured.
In the wake of the attack, Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has issued a stark warning about the threat posed to her country, saying it has raised ‘dangers to a new level’.
It comes ahead of the UEFA European Football Championship, which is kicking off in just 75 days, with British police set to be deployed to Germany to help keep fans safe.
Germany will be on high alert for the major international event, Ms Faeser said this week, with temporary border controls to be introduced ‘to prevent possible perpetrators of violence from entering the country.’
‘One thing can be said for sure – the dangers have reached a new level,’ Nancy Faeser reportedly said, adding that Germany is ‘arming itself even more strongly against all current threats.’
She explained that the country is facing threats from Islamist terrorists, as well as other potential violent criminals.
She said authorities will be keeping ‘a particular eye on current threats’, including terror groups, extremists, hooligans and criminal groups, and added that ‘the security of our networks against cyber attacks’ is also a risk factor.
Neil Doyle, an expert in counter-terrorism, told The Sun: ‘Euro 2024 represents a major target for groups looking to mount mass casualty attacks for revenge and global headlines.’
He added that the country, as a major backer of Ukraine, could be a target for Russia, with another expert highlighting the dangers posed by Kremlin cyber attacks.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who has worked for the Joint Intelligence Committee and national crisis group Cobra, said: ‘Russia would like to disrupt this event in some way, such as a cyber attack, and they would hope to embarrass the German government.’
With more than half a million Brits planning to fly to Germany for the tournament in June, Ms Faesar sought to assure fans and players from across the continent that their safety is the host nation’s priority.
She said: ‘We are pooling the forces of the security authorities even more strongly for the Euros and are preparing for all possible dangers.
‘This is necessary to protect this major international event in the best possible way.
‘The security of the tournament is paramount.’
A UK government spokesman said: ‘Football fans all over the country will be looking forward to a summer of football.
‘We are working with the German police to support a safe and trouble-free tournament.
‘A UK police delegation will be deployed to Germany during the event and we will also be offering support and advice on how to engage with fans attending from the UK.’
Concerns over security in Germany come as France pushed its security alert system to its highest level last Sunday in the wake of the Moscow massacre.
Macron held an emergency meeting to discuss the already tense security situation in the country, as it prepares to host the 2024 Olympic Games.
He revealed that ISIS-K, the ultra-brutal ISIS offshoot that Western intelligence believes carried out the attack in Moscow, has ‘attempted several times to hit France.’
France’s prime minister Gabriel Attal took to X to say: ‘Given the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the attack and the threats weighing on our country, we have decided to raise the Vigipirate posture to its highest level: emergency attack.’
Speaking the following day, he told reporters: ‘The terrorist threat is real, it’s strong.
He said that two plots by suspected Islamic extremists had already been thwarted this year.
France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, seemingly referred to the alleged plots in an interview with France 2, telling the broadcaster: ‘We have never foiled so many attacks in France.’
He added: ‘The Islamic State is the author of the last eight foiled attacks in France. We foil a lot of attacks, one every two months.’
