Chancellor Angela Merkel dismisses suggestions that the influx of refugees over the past year brought Islamic extremism to Germany.
Speaking at a campaign event in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Merkel says “the phenomenon of Islamist terrorism by IS isn’t a phenomenon that came to us with the refugees, it’s one that we had before too.”
She concedes, however, “it can be seen that there are attempts to win over refugees (for terrorism), or we had the case of Paris, where refugees were deliberately smuggled in by IS.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks alongside Lorenz Caffier, left, of Merkel’s Christian Democrats, during an election campaign in Neustrelitz, Germany on Aug. 17, 2016. (Bernd Wuestneck/dpa via AP)
Merkel’s Christian Democrats face strong competition from the nationalist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party in state elections on Sept. 4.
The country was shaken by a string of attacks in July, two of which were the first in Germany claimed by the Islamic State group.
— AP
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