A spokesman for the German Ministry of Interior said that the situation in Germany remains \"high risk.\"
Just yesterday an al Qaeda website posted a threat announcing a brutal attack in Germany for a Sunday in October. No specific target was named in the text-only message.
Another German-language terror video came out yesterday from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) featuring five jihadist German nationals. The video showed training camps in Pakistan and young children learning to use weapons. The video also showed several western-European looking boys.
Munich police last week detained two suspected Islamists in connection with the recently released videos of al Qaeda member Bekkay Harrach, who threatened an attack on Germany if the elections, which were held Sept. 27, did not result in a pull-out of German troops from Afghanistan. Current Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has pledged a continued presence in Afghanistan, was victorious.
German terrorism expert Guido Steinberg said Harrach's threats were particularly worrisome to authorities because they are so specific: \"Harrach would lose credibility and al Qaeda would lose credibility if an attack does not happen,\" said Steinberg.
Oktoberfest has been targeted in the past — Saturday's festival opened with a minute of silence to honor the victims of a bomb attack that killed 13 people and injured 200 others on Sept. 26, 1980.
Christel Kucharz contributed to this report.
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