Dozens of IS-linked extremists entered Germany posed as refugees: reports

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Dozens of extremists linked to the Islamic State (IS) and al-Nusra entered Germany posing as Syrian refugees, Germany’s Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.

German security sources identified about 60 members of a Syrian militant group called Liwa Owais al-Korani who fought for months alongside al-Nusra and IS in Raqqa, Syria.

According to Der Spiegel, the group’s fighters were responsible for “numerous massacres of captured civilians and Syrian soldiers,” adding at least 300 people died at the hands of the extremists.

One of the group’s former commanders, identified as Abdul Dschawad al-K., came to Germany in October 2014 and was granted asylum.

The former commander was involved in mass executions of civilians and prisoners of war, German security officials said.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), a German state security service, said it had established a special task force to hunt the extremists in the country.

So far, authorities have been able to identify 25 former fighters seeking asylum in Germany and have even charged some with war crimes.

Germany has been the victim of several IS-linked terror attacks in the past couple of years.

Security officials have often warned of militants disguised as refugees who enter the country to plot and carry out terror attacks.

According to the BfV, in 2016, militants linked to IS carried out five attacks while security officials thwarted another seven.

Head of BfV Hans-Georg Maassen warned Germany “must expect further attacks by individuals or terror groups [which] may occur any time.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been criticized for her “open-door” policy which has allowed in over one million asylum seekers fleeing war and persecution in the Middle East since 2015.