Poland, Italy next ‘terror’ targets?

15 March 2004

Essen – Poland and Italy could be next in line for attack by Islamist militants, a German anti-terrorism expert, Rolf Tophoven, warned in an interview Monday.

Although Germany had opposed the U.S. war to overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, it too could become a target.

“We are not the number one target at the moment, but because of the German armed forces deployment in Afghanistan and in the Horn of Africa, we are certainly in the Islamists’ sights,” he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in an interview.

The Essen-based author said, “I expect that the terrorists will work their way through the U.S. allies. Poland and Italy, which are in Iraq as U.S. allies, are among those in danger.”

Amid growing evidence that al-Qaeda may have been responsible for the explosions which killed almost 200 people in Spain last Thursday, Tophoven said Islamist terrorism was gaining a new character.

“Striking three days before the election was the first time this has been event-linked,” he asserted. Unique among major Islamist attacks was the fact that it was not carried out by suicide bombers, according to Tophoven.

DPA
Subject: German News