Call for terror at carnival: How authorities and politicians assess the situation

Police on high alert: calls for terrorist attacks have appeared in propaganda publications by the terrorist group IS. The IS is trying to appeal to radicalising individuals using the perfidious hashtag "Let's Slaughter". The next targets are said to be Cologne and Nuremberg, where attacks are being called for during carnival celebrations.

Such macabre calls are staged in a way that is highly publicized as an attack on the free way of life in Europe. This strategy is intended to stir up fear and insecurity - especially before major events. Before the European Football Championship last year, IS also published similar threats in one of its propaganda magazines, but no attacks occurred.

Although such propaganda on relevant channels is nothing new, the police are nevertheless aware of it. "We have no knowledge of any concrete plans for attacks or any specific threat. This does not change our previous plans," said a spokeswoman for the police in Nuremberg.

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) made a similar statement. "Apart from propaganda publications and the associated calls for criminal acts, the BKA currently has no concrete evidence of possible plans to attack this year's carnival celebrations," says an updated assessment by the security agency. In an earlier statement, the BKA had already pointed to a possible increase in fake news and disinformation campaigns to unsettle revelers and fools during the "fifth season".

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The intention behind this: Islamists wanted to undermine the subjective feeling of security within the population.

But the attacks and assaults of recent months, some of which were motivated by Islamism, have left their mark on the collective consciousness. Whether in Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg or Munich: recent acts of violence in public spaces are also suitable for serving as inspiration for similar acts, as the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "Public events are still subject to a high level of abstract risk. Celebrations and large gatherings of people can be classified as soft and symbolic targets that generate a lot of attention and are therefore generally considered targets for Islamist-motivated individuals."

Europe and Germany continue to be targeted by terrorist organizations, jihadist groups and individual perpetrators, according to the BfV. "In particular, IS is trying to mobilize individual perpetrators with regular calls for attacks, and specific targets in Germany are also mentioned."

An abstract danger that the Federal Criminal Police Office also names. A danger can never be completely eliminated due to "irrational perpetrators and unpredictable actions by these people". The general threat from Islamist terrorism in Germany is still high - a residual risk remains.

Whether it is football tournaments, Christmas markets or now the carnival season: despite IS threats, leading politicians have repeatedly stated in the media that they will not be intimidated by the threat of attacks in their everyday lives.

The police union (GdP) also believes that the security forces are well prepared. "Carnival parades have been the focus of police situation assessments for some time now," said Michael Mertens, deputy federal chairman of the GdP, in response to an RND query.

In light of current developments, the security concepts for carnival parades are constantly being checked for weak points. "With this in mind, the revelers are well protected and should not let the celebrations be taken away from them," says Mertens, looking ahead. "The current threat from criminals will mean that we will increase the number of forces deployed in the carnival strongholds."