BERLIN (AP) — Al-Qaida has posted a new video threatening Germany, highlighting an increased threat level ahead of national elections and prompting authorities to step up security, the Interior Ministry said today.

The ministry gave no details of the al-Qaida posting, but said in a brief statement it underlines the fact that the Sept. 27 elections offer "a particular background for propaganda and operational actions by terrorist groups."

It said authorities believe there is an "increased threat situation" to which they are responding with "adjusted security measures in particular at airports and stations."

ARD television reported that the video features a German-speaker who has featured in previous videos over the past year, issuing a threat connected to Germany's troop presence in Afghanistan.

"If the people decides for a continuation of the war, it has delivered its own verdict," the channel quoted Bekkay Harrach, who uses the pseudonym Abu Talha, as saying in the video. "The parliamentary election is the people's only opportunity to shape the policy of the country."

He adds that "with the withdrawal of the last German soldiers, the last mujahedeen also will be withdrawn from Germany."