Roundup: Germany weighs measures to combat terrorism following Paris attacks

The debate in Germany over measures to counter terrorist threats has gained fresh impetus following the Paris attacks. German Justice Minister Heiko Maas announced Monday to tighten laws to combat terrorism.

"I will present a package in January, with which we can take tougher action against terrorists," Maas said in an interview published Monday.

The minister told Germany's Bild newspaper that he would create laws to more severely punish financial backers of terrorist groups, as well as radical islamists traveling to conflict zones.

But he ruled out a reintroduction of a law to force Internet service providers to keep their customers' browsing history in case of a government investigation.

Maas's plan comes on the heels of a three-day bloodshed in Paris that claimed 17 victims last week, which has also raised concerns in Germany about its own security.

Hans-Georg Maassen, head of German Federal Office for Protection of the Constitution, warned Sunday of the continuing risk that terror attacks could also take place in his country.

"At least 180 people have returned to Germany from Syria and Iraq," the chief of Germany's domestic intelligence agency told German public television ARD. "A large part of them may have been radicalized and brutalized."

German officials estimated that more than 500 German citizens had made their way to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the Islamic State, raising fears of attacks on home soil when they return.

In order to achieve an effective monitoring of those returnees, Maassen called in the interview with ARD for closer cooperation among intelligence services.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has expressed similar thoughts, calling upon key states and security services to promote exchange of information on "dangerous people".

Also German Chancellor Angela Merkel has emphasized the importance of international intelligence work.

While addressing members of her CDU party in Hamburg on Saturday, she appealed for a more intensive exchange of information among Europe's secret services on security issues, citing passenger data as a concrete example. Endit