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CONTRADICTING THE EXPERTS

Angela Merkel sparks German outrage by claiming there is NO link between the ‘open door’ refugee policy and a spike in Islamic terror attacks in the country

Germany has been hit by a spate of attacks in recent weeks after welcoming in more than one million migrants over the past year

ANGELA Merkel has denied that Germany's open-door refugee policy is responsible for a spike in terror attacks.

The German Chancellor spoke out after a series of 'lone-wolf attacks' around the country in recent weeks.

More than one million refugees have sought refuge in Germany after it pledged take in those fleeing the Syrian conflict.

Angela Merkel is coming under increasing pressure from voters over her 'open-door' immigration policy
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Angela Merkel is coming under increasing pressure from voters over her 'open-door' immigration policyCredit: Alamy
Angela Merkel
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The German Chancellor denied a spate of terror attacks in her country was linked to the influx of more than one million immigrants in the past yearCredit: DPA
Merkel has seen her popularity plummet in recent months with demonstrations taking place last month in Berlin
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Merkel has seen her popularity plummet in recent months with demonstrations taking place last month in BerlinCredit: Getty Images

And the subsequent rise in attacks has severely dented her popularity amongst voters.

But she denied that immigration had any link to extremism after being asked if "terrorism had come to Germany with the refugees".

Merkel said: "The phenomenon of Islamic terrorism of IS not a phenomenon that has come to us through the refugees but one we already had."

Only days ago the Office for the Protection of the Constitution said jihadists were working hard to radicalise young asylum seekers.

Its president Hans-Georg Maassen said: "There are more than 340 cases which have become known to us.

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"These are only the ones we know about. There are probably more cases."

Within the last month a migrant attacked train commuters with an axe near the town of Wurzburg.

While ISIS-inspired Mohammed Daleel unsuccessfully attempted to blow himself up with a DIY suicide bomb in Ansbach.

German politicians are under increasing pressure to speed up the deportation process for tens of thousands of migrants who have been denied asylum.

Many have managed to work the system to stay in the country.

Migrants queue on a street to enter the compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs (LAGESO) for their registration process in Berlin, Germany, December 9, 2015.
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Many migrants were drawn by a German pledge to welcome hundreds of thousands fleeing war-torn Syria
The pack back used to carry an explosive device at the scene of the suicide attack
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One attack saw migrant Mohammad Daleel try to carry out a suicide bombing in Ansbach using a homemade explosiveCredit: DPA
Mohammad Daleel - Twitter
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German authorities have been unable to deport Daleel after he attempted suicide twice while in custody. Merkel has promised tougher measures to police terror suspectsCredit: Twitter

Among them is Daleel, who has been declared unfit for deportation because of two suicide attempts.

Merkel has tried to reassure the German public, promising greater "powers to intervene" - referring to a recent deadly shooting in Munich by a schoolboy unrelated to ISIS.

She added: "Through digitialisation, through social media, through the so-called Darknet that played a role in the gun rampage in Munich, we must adapt constantly and permanently adapt our strategies.

"What used to be just video surveillance will soon be including face detection technology."

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