Accessibility links

Breaking News

German Police Arrest Syrian Suspected Of Planning Terrorist Attack


A truck attack at Christmas market in Berlin that was claimed by the extremist group Islamic State killed 12 people in December 2016.
A truck attack at Christmas market in Berlin that was claimed by the extremist group Islamic State killed 12 people in December 2016.

German police have arrested a 19-year-old Syrian man suspected of preparing an "Islamist-motivated" bomb attack, prosecutors say.

The man, identified as Yamen A., was arrested early on October 31 in the northeastern town of Schwerin, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Police searched his home and several other apartments in the region.

The man is suspected of having "planned and already concretely prepared an Islamist-motivated attack in Germany using very powerful explosives," the statement said.

His intention was "to kill and injure as many people as possible," it said.

"As a result, he began to procure components and chemicals needed to make an explosive device," it said, adding that it was unclear whether he had chosen a specific target.

There were no indications that he was a member of a terrorist organization, it said. Authorities did not say when the suspect arrived in Germany.

German police have been on high alert to the threat of Islamist attacks.

A truck attack at Christmas market in Berlin that was claimed by the extremist group Islamic State killed 12 people in December 2016.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters

XS
SM
MD
LG