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Germany Launches 24 Raids, Shuts Down ISIS-Linked Mosque In BERLIN

REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

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Jacob Bojesson Foreign Correspondent
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The German capital of Berlin banned the so-called “Fussilet 33” mosque Tuesday after 400 law enforcement officers raided 24 locations across the city.

The mosque is considered a meeting place for radical Islamists in the German capital. Anis Amri, the Tunisian refugee behind the truck attack Dec. 19 at a Christmas market in Berlin, frequented the mosque. (RELATED: Berliners Come To Terms With Terrorism Being The New Normal)

The mosque has been under surveillance since 2015 for its links to recruitment activities for Islamic State. It is also accused of raising funds for the terror group’s activities in Syria.

Berlin authorities have stepped up counter-terror measures since the truck attack and arrested three Islamic State suspects last week.

Germany’s population of Islamic extremists has grown from 100 people in 2013 to 1,600 in the last four years, the country’s security and intelligence agency (BfV) announced Wednesday. BfV said that radical adherents increased by several hundred in recent months. Out of the 1,600 on the list, about 570 are considered “dangerous” and capable of plotting a terror attack. (RELATED: Germany Reports Dramatic Increase In Islamic Extremism)

“We receive between two and four credible tips on planned terrorist activity in Germany each day,” BfV chief Hans-Georg Maassen said, according to Deutsche Welle. “We have to recognize that we are living in a different situation now than was normal.”

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