Europe is on edge amidst the increasing threat of terrorist attacks and civil unrest linked to the conflict in Israel, as well as the approach of the end-of-year Judeo-Christian holidays.
On Wednesday, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of a warning issued by the London Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command urging the British public to be extra vigilant as the Capital enters a busy period of festivities, events and activities in the run-up to Christmas.
The UK's internal security service, MI5, places the current terrorism threat level for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at 'SUBSTANTIAL', meaning an attack is likely.
Also on Wednesday, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, issued a threat assessment warning that the danger of an Islamist terror attack on German soil had significantly increased.
The agency said the increased risk of attacks against the Jewish community or "the West as a whole" came in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip. According to Director, Thomas Haldenwang:
"I have repeatedly emphasized that an Islamist attack can be carried out in Germany any day."
"The dimension of the Hamas attack and the associated worldwide publicity are motivating IS and al-Qaeda to make expressions of support that previously seemed hardly conceivable."
AlertsUSA cautions listeners that with the approach of Christmas and other end-of-year religious and cultural activities, large public gatherings such as outdoor markets and festivals have been targeted for terrorist attacks on a number of occasions in the past. These include the 2016 Berlin Christmas Market truck ramming attack by a Tunisian national that killed 12 and injured 56, the 2018 Strasbourg Christmas Market mass shooting that killed 5 and wounded 11, and the 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade vehicle ramming attack that killed 6 and injured 62 others.
And this year is off to a grim start. On Thursday, German prosecutors announced the arrest of two teenagers allegedly planning to set off a truck--borne incendiary device at the Christmas market in Leverkusen, near Cologne. Prosecutors allege the two teens, one an Afghan-German dual national and the other, a Chechen, planned to leave Germany after the attack to join an element of the Islamic State in Afghanistan.
AlertsUSA continues to monitor the overall domestic and international threat environment and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages and email, of breaking incidents of national significance, as well as any new alerts, warnings or advisories impacting the overall threat picture for American citizens, as events warrant. |
