Wanted ‘German Taliban’ member killed in Pakistan

A convicted German terrorist wanted for his involvement in the failed plot to attack US military facilities in Germany in 2008 was killed in Pakistan, German officials told The Associated Press.

Germany’s main domestic intelligence agency said that a statement issued by the Islamic Jihad Union informing of 22-year-old Eric Breininger’s death on April 30 appeared to be authentic.

“Based on our general knowledge, the contents of the statement appear to be authentic,” the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said in a statement.

The agency said that Breininger had appeared in the past on videos with the leader of the organization.

Breininger had been sought by German federal prosecutors since 2008 on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization. Although prosecutors had at no point linked him to any attacks or plots, Breininger is believed to have been recruited to Islam by members of a cell convicted in March of plotting to attack U.S. targets in Germany.

The news report does not say where Breininger was killed, but there are two likely possibilities: 1) he was killed in one of the many US airstrikes in Pakistan; or, more likely, 2) he was killed while assaulting a Pakistani military outpost in North Waziristan on April 28. Three Uzbeks and a German were reported killed in that attack. More on the Islamic Jihad union from the LWJ report:

The attack was likely carried out by the Islamic Jihad Group (or Islamic Jihad Union), a splinter faction of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The Islamic Jihad Group is based out of the Mir Ali region in North Waziristan and maintains close ties with al Qaeda and North Waziristan Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar. It is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization.

German Muslims make up a significant portion of the Islamic Jihad Group. Its fighters are often referred to as German Taliban, and they carry out attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last year, the Islamic Jihad Group released video of ‘German Taliban villages’ in Waziristan. Its fighters were seen training at camps and conducting military operations. Over the past year, two American jihadists, Abu Ibrahim al Amriki and Sayfullah al Amriki, have been featured in propaganda released by the Islamic Jihad Group.

The US killed Najmuddin Jalolov, the leader of the Islamic Jihad Group, in a Predator airstrike in North Waziristan on Sept. 14.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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