2024-04-12 12:51:28
The Land’s Central Terrorism Investigation Office (ZenTer NRW) requested an arrest warrant for the teenagers over the Easter holidays. All three are from the Düsseldorf region and planned to commit crimes such as murder and murder, prosecutors added.
Investigators did not provide further details about the alleged plot and said the investigation was still ongoing. However, the Bild newspaper reported that the youths allegedly planned to use Molotov cocktails and knives in the attacks on behalf of the Islamic State. Their targets were believed to be Christians and police, the report said, and the suspects were also considering acquiring firearms.
As the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, Germany increased its preparedness for the threat of Islamist attacks, with the country’s domestic intelligence chief warning that the danger was “real and greater than it has been for a long time”.
In January, police arrested three people in connection with an alleged plot to carry out an attack on Cologne Cathedral on New Year’s Eve. In March, two Afghans linked to Islamic State were arrested on suspicion of planning an attack outside the Swedish parliament in retaliation for Koran burnings. In October, German prosecutors also charged two Syrian brothers with planning an Islamic State-inspired attack on a church in Sweden.
2024-04-12 12:51:28