Germany says stolen Islamic State files `probably genuine`

  11 March 2016    Read: 873
Germany says stolen Islamic State files `probably genuine`
Germany`s interior minister has said stolen files detailing hundreds of recruits to the Islamic State militant group can be assumed to be genuine.
Thomas de Maiziere said the information could help with prosecutions of IS fighters, and help prevent future recruitment to the militant group.

Files obtained by German, UK and Syrian opposition media are said to identify IS recruits from at least 40 countries.
Some 22,000 names appear to be listed but most may be duplicates.

Names, addresses, phone numbers and skill sets are listed on official-looking forms.

Files were published online (documents in Arabic) by Zaman Al-Wasl, a Qatari-based Syrian news website:

Two of those listed, Kerim Marc B and Abdelkarim B, are currently on trial separately in Germany, while another two Germans on the list, Farid Saal Yassin Oussaiffi, have appeared in IS videos

Dutch media identified Abu Jihad al-Hollandi as Amsterdam teenager Achraf Bouamran, killed in a US air strike on the Syrian IS stronghold of Raqqa in January 2015. His file reads: "Born 1997. Moroccan origin. Wants to be a fighter"

Sixteen Britons including two killed in air strikes in Syria, Junaid Hussain and Reyaad Khan, also reportedly feature in the files

One file refers to a German recruit who used to be "in sales" and now "wants to be a suicide bomber", while another would-be suicide bomber (nationality not given) formerly worked as a "tobacconist in a restaurant".

Another mentions an Australian who was willing to "martyr" himself, but the document expressed concerns over his night vision, and inability to drive a car with manual gear change, CNN reports.

Counter-terrorism police in Germany are studying the documents. "The German Federal Bureau of Investigation acts on the assumption that the documents are authentic," Mr de Maiziere said.

"We can also improve our understanding of the structures of this terror organisation," he added. "And possibly, it will discourage young, radicalised people, who believe they are doing something good if they become a member of a criminal organisation."

His counterpart in the UK, Home Secretary Theresa May, said she could not comment on "specific national security matters".

IS "poses a severe threat... it is important for us to work together to counter this threat", she added.

`Stolen memory stick`

Sky News said the files contained 22,000 names, addresses, telephone numbers and family contacts of jihadists.

It said the documents came from a man called Abu Hamed, an IS fighter who said he had become disillusioned with the group`s leadership and stolen a memory stick from the head of the IS internal security force before handing it over in Turkey.

Stefan Kornelius, foreign editor of Germany`s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, told the BBC the paper had obtained the documents from a "trusted source".

"It gives some proof on the state of Isis [IS] right now, since many of those members and those being close to the terrorist group are trying to make money, quite honestly, because obviously the Isis is in a desperate financial state," he said.

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