Al Qaeda’s Turks
Increasingly more Turks are recruited by the Taliban and Al Qaeda for the Jihad (variously translated as [holy] war, struggle and in other terms) in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal region called Waziristan. According to recent estimates some 1,000 Turks joined forces with these extremist organizations in recent years.
Most of those Turks have dual citizenship; they or their (grand)parents migrated from Turkey to Western Europe. Especially Germany’s Turkish population is under the influence of quite some radical imams and other radicals who actively recruit other Turks for the Jihad.
These Turkish Jihadis arrive in Waziristan from where they launch attacks against NATO and Afghan government forces in Afghanistan. After having received training in one of the many terrorist training camps in this province, they fight for a couple of months after which they, troubling, had back home.
It seems that the main reason for their return to Western Europe and Turkey is that Al Qaeda believes that another 9/11 would help it improve its standing among radical Muslims and would enable it to recruit more fighters in the coming years. This means that it could very well be that a possible future terrorist attack will be carried out by Turkish immigrants; a part of the immigrant population normally not considered in danger of radicalization - Egyptians, Arabs, and Moroccans have historically been considered far more likely suspects.
