Six Syrians arrested for 'planning terror attack'
The suspects, aged 20 to 28, were detained in dawn raids that saw some 500 police officers swoop on residences in the cities of Kassel, Essen, Hanover and Leipzig.
Recommended articles
![Fiona Beal killed her partner and lied to everyone about what happened to him [Northamptonshire Police]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'100'%20height%3D'100'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Fiona Beal killed her partner and lied to everyone about what happened to him [Northamptonshire Police]")
The suspects, aged 20 to 28, were detained in dawn raids that saw some 500 police officers swoop on residences in the cities of Kassel, Essen, Hanover and Leipzig.
The men are accused of belonging to "the foreign terrorist group that calls itself the Islamic State", Christian Hartwig, a spokesman for the Frankfurt prosecutor's office, said in a statement.
"The accused are also suspected of preparing an attack on a public target in Germany using weapons or explosives," Hartwig said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The investigators believe the men had not yet finalised their attack plan, he added.
But the local Hessischer Rundfunk radio station, citing sources close to the probe, said the accused "had planned an attack on the Christmas market in Essen", a city in western Germany.
Such an attack would have revived painful memories of last December's truck rampage in Berlin when a failed Tunisian asylum seeker smashed into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12 people.
Police and prosecutors declined to comment on reports citing Essen's Christmas market as the target, which also appeared in Germany's best-selling Bild newspaper.
The six detained Syrians all arrived in Germany as asylum seekers between December 2014 and September 2015, at the height of Europe's migrant crisis.
ADVERTISEMENT
Prosecutors gave no further details about the case, saying the inquiry was still ongoing.
German daily Die Welt said it was fellow refugees who tipped off the police about the suspects.
German security forces have been on high alert following a spate of Islamist attacks, of which the Berlin rampage was the deadliest.
Last month, police arrested a 19-year-old Syrian suspected of preparing an Islamist terror attack in the country using "powerful explosives".
Domestic security services estimate there are some 10,300 radical Islamists in Germany.
ADVERTISEMENT
About 700 of them are considered dangerous and capable of a violent attack.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
Recommended articles
UniAbuja female final year student declared missing
JAMB releases fresh update on 2024 results
Coalition lauds Speaker for pro-masses forum on State Police
Tinubu secures $600m seaport investment from Danish company
‘Warri Boys in Lagos’ launches ₦1bn appeal fund for multipurpose complex
Tinubu grants approval for design of Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway - Umahi
Ganduje: IGP lauded for withdrawing police attached to Kano anti-graft commission
Gunmen brutally murder Aiyedatiwa’s campaign coordinator in front of his house
Tinubu best thing to happen to northern Nigeria - Arewa group
ADVERTISEMENT
![Fiona Beal killed her partner and lied to everyone about what happened to him [Northamptonshire Police]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'300'%20height%3D'172'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Fiona Beal killed her partner and lied to everyone about what happened to him [Northamptonshire Police]")