Two Iranian brothers, aged 32 and 25, were arrested during a nighttime anti-terrorist operation in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia for allegedly trying to obtain poison for an Islamic-motivated attack. When the 32-year-old’s apartment in Castrop-Rauxel was searched on Sunday evening, the corresponding toxins cyanide and ricin were not found.
According to the attorney general, the suspicion was initially directed against the 32-year-old. The 25-year-old was also in his apartment. It is still unclear how concrete the possible attack plans had progressed and what a possible target would have been.
The Attorney General’s Office has requested arrest warrants against the two. They are accused, among other things, of having purchased the toxins for an Islamic-motivated attack and of wanting to kill “an undetermined number of people”. The detectives see the brothers as suspects of preparing a serious state-threatening act of violence and of conspiracy to commit a crime, namely murder. A magistrate of the Dortmund court is now deciding whether the two should be taken into custody.
Supporters of a Sunni terrorist group
As the DPA has learned from security circles, the 32-year-old is suspected to be a supporter of a Sunni Islamist terror group. He would not have acted on behalf of the Iranian state authorities. The latter was also confirmed by the spokesperson for the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office. He continued that there were indications of an Islamist-influenced worldview, which resulted in an attack being planned. According to the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, a “serious tip” from the US had alarmed the German authorities.
As the DPA learned from security circles, the 25-year-old was previously known to police, but for reasons unrelated to Islamist terrorism. The men would both have been in Germany since 2015. When they were arrested, they were dressed only scantily and led across the street in an emergency vehicle, eyewitnesses reported. Neither of them resisted. According to the detectives, according to current knowledge, there are no other suspects.
Source: Krone
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