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Jihadists Targeted in Germany

Police Raid Homes of Suspected Islamists

Police have raided over a dozen properties across Germany in a major anti-terrorism operation. Their targets were radical Muslims who they suspect were wanting to wage jihad in Germany and abroad.

Police carried out anti-terror raids across Germany on Wednesday, aimed at disrupting a network of Islamists who were allegedly trying to radicalize Germans and support jihad abroad.

Around 130 officers raided 16 homes, clubs and publishing houses in Berlin, Bonn, Leipzig, Sindelfingen, Neu-Ulm and Ulm early on Wednesday morning.

The Munich public prosecutor's office, which is leading the investigation, said the raids were directed at Islamists who are suspected of "forming a criminal network." The nine men are German nationals aged between 25 and 47. Most of them are of immigrant background.

The men are accused of trying to radicalize Muslims and non-Muslims in the period since September 2005. According to investigators, their base was a former community center called the Multicultural House in Neu-Ulm, a notorious meeting point for radical Islamists.

The suspects are believed to have focused their efforts on German converts to Islam. They are accused of, among other things, inciting racial hatred and promoting jihad in Germany and abroad, the German news agency DDP reported. The men also allegedly disseminated radical literature and audio and video recordings.

The raids were aimed in particular at seizing illegal publications and obtaining information about their creators, DDP reported. More information on the raids will not be released until at least Friday.

Last year, authorities broke up a three-strong terror cell in the central German Sauerland region. The cell's members, two of whom were German converts to Islam, had connections to the Multicultural House in Neu-Ulm and were planning attacks on US targets in Germany. Recently German investigators warned that two extremists with connections to the Sauerland cell could be planning an attack in Afghanistan.

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