(AP-Washington Post) Clashes in Bonn, Germany, injured 29 officers Saturday, authorities said Sunday. About 110 ultraconservative Muslim Salafist protesters were briefly arrested after they started attacking security forces with stones and bottles, police said. Two of the injured police officers were hospitalized with serious wounds after being stabbed. The trouble started when hundreds of Muslims protested against a rally of about 30 supporters of the marginal anti-immigration Pro NRW party, which has angered Muslims by showing unfavorable cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Similar clashes between Salafists and the Pro NRW party erupted last weekend. Germany's intelligence and security agencies are closely monitoring the Salafists' actions as the group is increasingly viewed as a threat to security. "Salafism is currently the most dynamic Islamist movement in Germany as well as internationally. Its fanatic followers represent a particular danger for Germany's security," Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich told the Sunday paper Bild am Sonntag. "The Salafists provide the ideological foundation for those who then turn violent."
2012-05-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive