The German government announced Thursday it had banned the neo-Nazi group Combat 18, an organisation founded in Britain that was implicated in the murder of a German municipal official last year.
"Far-right extremism and anti-Semitism do not have a place in our society," an interior ministry spokesman said on Twitter as justification for the ban on the group's German chapter.
He added that raids against its members were underway in six states.
German authorities have long kept a close eye on the group, which although believed to have only about 20 members, are considered to be willing to commit violent acts.
German policemen raid a home in connection with the ban of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18. Source: DPA
The neo-Nazi sympathiser suspected of having killeda municipal official for his pro-migrant positions was found to have had contacts with Combat 18.
Combat 18 was founded in Britain in 1992 and the number in its name stands for the first and eight letters of the alphabet - the initials of Adolf Hitler.
The group's motto includes the phrase: "Whatever it takes."
The ban of the group comes amid a resurgence of racist and anti-Semitic attacks that has prompted questions over how the German state combats right-wing extremism.
German policemen raid a home in connection with the ban of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18. Source: DPA
In October, two people were killed in an attempted anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue in the town of Halle in Eastern Germany.
Several high-profile German politicians have also reported receiving death threats from far-right groups in recent months.
