German Police Raid Militants

German police on Tuesday raided 200 sites across 10 states in a probe against a militant group suspected of inciting hate. The group called The True Religion (Die wahre Religion) has now also been banned by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, said a ministry spokeswoman. She said the sweeping raids in 10 states, including North Rhine-Westphalia in the west, Hamburg in the north and Baden-Wuerttemberg in the southwest began at dawn, AFP reported. The group is suspected of propagating hate, she said, adding that many people who have travelled to Syria had contact with it. The group is also known for its controversial program called "Lies!" which distributes copies of the Koran in German. But experts say the translation is a particular strict version from the original Arabic text. "The message to the radical jihadist scene is clear: we do not tolerate fanatics who try to radicalize young people and send them to jihad," said Peter Beuth, the interior minister for Hesse state, where the raids also took place.