Germany’s Military Counter intelligence Service (MAD) revealed on Tuesday that 29 former soldiers who previously served in the German army have travelled to Syria and Iraq and joined the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (Daesh).
According to a report released on Tuesday by the German military intelligence service, the German army is currently investigating into the status of 65 soldiers who are still in service in order to identify their political affiliation and whether they tend towards having extremist ideas, the German Press Agency reported.
The report pointed out that since 2007 the German military intelligence has been investigating 320 cases of soldiers who are suspected to be adopting extremist ideologies. Seven per cent of them were classified as “extremists” and a decision was made to dismiss 17 soldiers.
On his part, the Armed Forces Commissioner, Hans-Peter Bartels, warned of the possibility that Islamists abuse their access to the German army in order to train for jihad.
He told the German Press Agency that “it is certain that the German army, like any other armed forces, can be attractive for the Islamists who seek weapons training.”
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