Terrorism : Berlin raises its game

GSG 9, Germany’s elite anti-terrorism police unit is to expand due to growing threat of terrorism 

The elite unit was formed 45 years ago after German police bungled an operation to save Israeli athletes kidnapped by Palestinian militants during the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich.
It was found that conventional police lacked snipers, negotiators and the experience to deal with the Black September terrorist group.

The failure led to eleven Israelis, a German policeman and five of the Palestinian gunmen were killed.

GSG 9 forces on a training exercise.

Jerome Fuchs, the GSG 9 commander, told Deutschlandfunk radio:

“If one looks at similar terrorist situations throughout Europe, the capitals were often affected.”

German security officials have been on high alert after a failed Tunisian asylum seeker shot a truck driver and killed 11 more people by ploughing his vehicle into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016.  Anis Amri, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, escaped the scene.  However, he was shot dead by police in Italy four days later.