Friday, July 8, 2005

Security in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, was tightened after the attacks on London Thursday when 49 people were killed. Denmark supported the U.S.-led war on Iraq and fears of an attack are rising. “It’s not a question of if we’ll be attacked, but when” said security specialist Mikkel Vedby at the University in Copenhagen.

“This is how the world has become in the 21st century. There are people out there that want to harm us. They are at war with us and it seems we’re in war with them. We might be safe tomorrow or the next ten years.” said Mikkel Vedby. He later added that Denmark needed to get ready to face a major terrorist attack.

The group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks on London, the “Secret Organisation Group of Al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation”, issued a statement yesterday where attacks on countries that supported the “crusades” against Iraq and Afghanistan are threatened. Denmark is on that list. The statement has not been verified.

Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen, a security expert from the Danish Institute for International Studies, disagrees and says Denmark is not in danger of being a terrorist target because radical Islamic groups there are too small to be able to organise an attack. “It is true we are in a similar position as the UK. The Danish government does work closely with the United States and the United Kingdom governments because of Iraq and Afghanistan.”

As in other countries, security in Denmark has been stepped up at airports, rail stations, ports, borders, and other public places.