Berlin, Sep 19 (DPA) An Al Qaeda video threatening Germany with a “rude awakening” if it refuses to withdraw troops from Afghanistan has been posted on the internet, security officials said on Friday – just over a week before the country’s general election.
German security agents confirmed the existence of the video to DPA following reports on state television channel ARD.
The speaker in the video is reportedly a German Islamist, Bekkay Harrach, who uses the name Abu Talha.
Speaking in German, Harrach issued a warning ahead of the Sep 27 election.
“If the people decide … for a continuation of the war, they have cast their own verdict. The parliamentary election is the only chance for people to shape the policies of the country,” the recording said, according to ARD.
“With the withdrawal of the last German soldier, the last mujahedin will also be withdrawn from Germany,” Harrach reportedly said.
“This forms part of a generally increased level of threat ahead of the general election,” security agents said.
Although Germany’s NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is unpopular domestically, only the hard-left Die Linke are calling for immediate troop withdrawal.
Harrach, a German of Moroccan origin, is already known to German security agents. He has appeared in several Al-Qaeda propaganda videos that have been published online this year.
In the latest video, Harrach reportedly warned Muslims in Germany to stay away from public spaces in the two weeks following the election.
Omer O, a Turkish Al Qaeda suspect on trial in the German city of Koblenz, is thought to have recruited Harrach to join the radical Islamist group.
German courts restrict the reporting of defendants’ surnames.
