Reports of eight German militants killed in a suspected US drone attack in Pakistan put a spotlight on a growing number of trained, battle-hardened jihadists from Germany who are back in Europe.
German police and security experts believe radical Muslim communities like a Hamburg mosque linked to the 2001 attacks on the United States have produced up to 100 trained militants who now pose a major security threat.
Reports of eight German militants killed in a suspected US drone attack in Pakistan put a spotlight on a growing number of trained, battle-hardened jihadists from Germany who are back in Europe and could take part in attacks.
While the German government has played down the latest US and British warnings of a heightened risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, dismissing them as "alarmist", police see a growing threat from militants trained on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
With papers picturing Berlin landmarks named as potential targets, including the Brandenburg Gate and the Fernsehturm (TV tower) that dominates the skyline, the head of the main German police union warned: "We should expect attacks."
"The number of dangerous Islamists (in Germany) lies at more than 100," Konrad Freiberg, chairman of the union, told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper, adding that about 40 had explosives training. "This is very dangerous for us."
European and American counter-terrorism officials have also said that concerns about a group of about 100 German Islamists who had travelled between Germany and tribal border areas of Pakistan contributed to the latest security alert in Europe.
Security services have long kept an eye on the militant Islamist scene in Germany, especially a mosque in Hamburg which was frequented by Mohammed Atta -- the leader of the group that carried out the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
In August, German police shut down the Taiba Mosque, which was previously known as the al-Quds Mosque, saying it had links with armed groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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