Germany's Oktoberfest shrugs off terror threats

Ursäkta mej, men vad har dom att göra med Tysklands sedvänjor? Dom har inget att säga till om där, passar det inte kan dom åka hem!

OktoberFest: piss off Muslim terrorists

YahooNews -- Ryland James

Germany's Oktoberfest shrugs off terror threats

"Maybe the terrorists should come down and have a drink with us," suggested Bob Kalman, as he enjoyed a beer in one of the huge tents at Germany's world-famous Oktoberfest in Munich this week.

"It might solve a few of the world's problems if people got talking," the 30-year-old marketing manager originally from the Scottish city of Glasgow, now looking very German in his lederhosen, told AFP.

A string of threats against Germany by Islamic militants in the run-up to last Sunday's general election has prompted security to be stepped up around the country, including at Oktoberfest in the Bavarian capital.

Police in the southern state say that since September 19, six videos have surfaced on the Internet threatening attacks unless Germany withdraws its 4,200 troops fromAfghanistan.

In one of the videos, a man calling himself "Ajjub" and speaking in German, said it was only a matter of time "before jihad destroys German walls."

Photos of famous German sites and events then appear in the video, includingBerlin's Brandenburg Gate, Cologne's cathedral -- and Munich's Oktoberfest.

In another, an German Islamist originally from Bonn called Bekkay Harrach or Abu Talha al-Almani says: "The time is ripe for Germany to finally understand that Afghanistan is not Germany's 17th state.

"Nor is it a beer tent to celebrate Oktoberfest in all year round."

At Oktoberfest, which every year attracts around six million visitors from all over the world, armed police were searching people as they came in, and cars were banned from parking nearby.

Private security guards were also searching people's bags as they entered the festival's immense tents, and once inside there was a visible security presence. There was also a large number of surveillance cameras.

On Thursday a light aircraft advertising beer caused minor panic among visitors after it flew over the site and circled around at low altitude, organisers said. Since then a no-fly zone has been in place over the festival.