Video shows more Germans in Islamist camps than suspected

Oct 4, 2009, 14:16 GMT

Berlin - The latest German-language video from Islamist militants based in the wilds of Pakistan suggests more men raised in Germany are with such groups than previously suspected.

The German Interior Ministry in Berlin said Sunday the video confirmed its past warnings about young men from Germany's Muslim community heading to Pakistan to join the radicals.

'It reinforces our statements about highly worrying travel departures,' a ministry spokeswoman told the German Press Agency dpa.

The website of the daily newspaper Die Welt said the video, one of nearly 10 discovered on the web since mid-September, lasted nearly an hour and came from a group describing itself as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

It showed two German-origin men not previously known to be with the IMU.

The newcomers named themselves Abu-Askar and Abu-Zafiyaa, Welt Online said, adding that the tally appeared to be larger than previously known. The videos criticize Germany over its deployment of troops to Afghanistan to counter the Taliban.

German security agencies said they knew of no specific plot to attack Germany, but the videos constituted an 'abstract' threat.

German police were out in force during the 16-day Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich which ended Sunday and security was also tight at German Unity Day celebrations held Saturday in Berlin and in the city of Saarbruecken. There have been no attacks.

   Welt Online said the latest video also depicted two brothers from Bonn who had been known for some time to be part of the IMU. One of them, who uses the name Abu-Ibrahim, preached on the video.