Police have arrested two young people in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and Brandenburg for allegedly planning an Islamist terrorist attack. As security circles reported on Wednesday, the 15-year-old main suspect and a 16-year-old are said to have discussed their intention to carry out an attack on so-called “infidels.” The 15-year-old from North Rhine-Westphalia is said to have considered a synagogue and a Christmas market as possible destinations.
According to NRW Minister of the Interior Herbert Reul (CDU), the young people agreed on a specific Christmas market as the target of the attack.
Written in chat group about attack plans
“A young man wrote in a chat group about attack plans. Ultimately, they agreed on a very specific plan to attack a Christmas market. It seemed very concrete,” the CDU politician said on Wednesday evening. The reference to the young people came from abroad.
Specific date for attack given
As security circles reported on Wednesday evening, the suspected target of the attack was a Christmas market in Leverkusen. RTL West and WDR also reported about this. In addition, it was said that the seriousness of the plans was initially unclear. However, because the 15-year-old is said to have recently mentioned a specific date and a public place, the police intervened on Tuesday to be sure.
The court in Leverkusen sentenced the 15-year-old to custody on Wednesday. He is accused of planning and preparing an Islamist terrorist attack. According to Reul he is German-Afghanian. He was therefore arrested on Tuesday in Burscheid.
The Interior Ministry said there that the 16-year-old arrested in Brandenburg was a young person of Russian nationality who was specifically suspected of planning an attack. The arrest took place in the small town of Wittstock/Dosse in northwestern Brandenburg.
A 16-year-old is considered armed with weapons
The tip came from constitutional protection circles in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is still unclear whether he has also been arrested. According to information from the Tagesspiegel, it is believed that the 16-year-old is fond of weapons. He and his brother are extremely violent. According to the Tagesspiegel, he had a knife with him when he was arrested.
According to WDR information, the 15-year-old arrested in North Rhine-Westphalia is said to have announced a terrorist attack in Germany for Friday (December 1) in a video distributed on Telegram. According to WDR information, both young people are considered sympathizers of the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).
Memories of the 2016 attack
The fact that the two young people allegedly had a Christmas market in mind is reminiscent of the attack on December 19, 2016 on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. At that moment, an Islamist terrorist drove into the Christmas market in a hijacked truck. A total of thirteen people died as a result of the crime, one of which died years later.
Source: Krone
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