New report: Terror threat remains high

The number or terrorist-related incidents in this country has risen dramatically over the past two years as Denmark continues to suffer from the legacy of the Mohammed cartoons, reports Seven59.dk and DR.dk.

Since 2010, Jyllands-Posten has been targeted on a number of occasions, including planned attacks by the American-Pakistani David Headley who was convicted in Chicago, the ‘one-legged’ bomber Lors Doukajev who was arrested after a home-made bomb exploded in a Copenhagen hotel (see picture above) and two Somali brothers who were detained by Danish Intelligence (PET) in May last year. New Year’s day also marked the second anniversary of the ‘mad axeman’s’ attack on Mohammed illustrator Kurt Westergaard in his own home.

In a new report by The Centre of Terror Analysis (CTA), established under PET in 2007 as part of the government’s action plan for the fight against terrorism, PET boss Jacob Scharf concludes that Denmark remains a top priority terror target for militant Islamists and the threat today is more ‘fragmented, dynamic, and complex’ and therefore more unpredictable than before.

Denmark has never been punished

The report finds that certain militant groups retain the view that Denmark started the fight with Islam by publishing the Mohammed cartoons but has never been punished.

The number of terror attempts has been higher over the past three years than in the period directly after the cartoons were first printed in Jyllands Posten in 2005 and also in the period after they were re-published in 2008.

»The increase underlines the continuing focus on Denmark from militant Islamists and a threat that will continue for years to come,« says head of CTA, Søren Jensen.

See DR article in Danish here.

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