Al-Qaeda issues a declaration of war against Denmark: Security and political analysts confirm the seriousness of the threat.
According to an article published by TV2 late Monday evening, the extremist terrorist organization Al-Qaeda issued a threat against Denmark and Sweden through its official media channel, “As-Sahab.” TV2 received confirmation of this from the police intelligence service (PET).
The announcement came in the wake of the burning of the Quran, an act that angered many countries in the Islamic world.
According to Jakob Karsbo, senior analyst at the European research center, this is a clear “declaration of war” against Denmark. He adds: “It is serious. Ultimately (that calls for hostilities are directed at Denmark) is not something intelligence agencies can sit back and listen to; this must be taken very seriously, and taken very seriously internally at PET. It is something that could give al-Qaeda a platform again.”.
According to TV2, the website's team watched part of Al-Qaeda's speech, which contained calls for violence against Denmark and Sweden, and the team is working on translating the entire recording.
According to TV2, the PET commented that there is no doubt that the recent burning of the Quran in Denmark has generated significant negative interest from radical Islamists, among others, which is important for developing the threat image in Denmark and for Danish interests abroad.
The intelligence service is closely monitoring the situation.
The intelligence service wrote that it is closely monitoring the current situation, constantly assessing the overall threat picture and implementing “necessary security measures,” which is done in close cooperation with the relevant authorities in Denmark and abroad, according to the source.
According to Jakob Karsbo, threats of this kind are extraordinary, as this is a call for the organization's supporters to prepare for attacks against Denmark and Sweden: “It is rare to see something like this here. They have groups and cells in many places and sympathizers all over the world. There are a number of countries where it is known that they have the capacity to turn this into concrete terrorist planning.”.
The CIA did not specify what measures the intelligence service would take, but Jacob Karsbow estimates that the threat assessment will likely rise to “very high,” meaning that there are groups with the intent and capability to affect Danish interests, according to the source.
British source: Al-Qaeda calls for assassination of senior diplomats after far-right protesters burn Quran
According to the British newspaper Express, al-Qaeda has called for attacks on Swedish and Danish embassies worldwide following the recent burning of the Quran by far-right protesters in Scandinavia. The Islamist terrorist network had previously called for assassinations of diplomats after several copies of the Islamic holy book were burned in recent months, the report stated. In the same vein, more than 60,000 people have signed a petition to Parliament demanding that the UK government condemn the burning, Express reported.
