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Increased IS threat against Denmark

Christian Wenande
April 29th, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

For Islamic State, desperate times call for desperate actions

The threat of another attack, such as the one in Copenhagen last year, is very real (photo: Larsgottlieb)

According to the Danish intelligence agency PET, a terror attack by Islamic State (IS) is the greatest threat to national security at the moment.

A new report (here in English) from the Centre for Terror Analysis (CTA) under PET pointed to the attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels last month as examples of IS’s capability to organise complex attacks in western Europe.

“The terror threat to Denmark remains significant. This means there are individuals with intent and the capacity to commit terrorist attacks in Denmark. Terrorist attacks can take place without prior intelligence-based indications. However, the risk of falling victim to a terrorist attack in Denmark remains limited,” the CTA report found.

“The terror threat is primarily posed by militant Islamism. The key factors affecting the threat picture are the conflict in Syria and Iraq and the group that refers to itself as Islamic State (IS). IS propaganda has an influential effect on persons in Denmark to commit terrorism or to travel to Syria/Iraq to join IS. Moreover, IS can direct attacks against Denmark.”

READ MORE: Danish police arrest four people enlisted to commit terror attacks for Islamic State

IS more desperate
According to CTA, the attacks are becoming more frequent because IS is under pressure from the US-led coalition in Syria and Iraq.

CTA estimated that support for IS among people in Islamist environments in Denmark has grown, and it is these individuals in particular who pose a terror threat.

Despite the increasing threat, the overall threat level remains unchanged at serious.


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Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”