Terrorism

None of 'Isis arrests' were for plotting terror attack: police

The Local
The Local - [email protected] • 5 Feb, 2016 Updated Fri 5 Feb 2016 17:00 CEST
image alt text

Police confirmed to The Local on Friday that none of the people taken into custody on Thursday were arrested for planning an act of terrorism.

A spokesperson for Berlin police said that the three people  - arrested in early morning raids in three German states - were all arrested on existing charges, not in connection with an ongoing investigation into the suspected planning of a terror attack.

A 49-year-old man in Berlin was arrested on charges of falsifying documents, while a 34-year-old Algerian in North Rhine-Westphalia and his 27-year-old wife were detained under an international arrest warrant issued by the Algerian government.

According to the Algerian government, the two have connections to the terror group Isis.

Police issued a photo which showed the 34-year-old Algerian holding a pistol and surrounded by assault rifles.

In a statement police said they had a slew of pictures which prove the man had spent time in the war-torn country of Syria. 

Earlier on Friday, Hans-Georg Maaßen, head of Germany's internal security service, told public broadcaster ZDF there is no evidence that a terrorist attack in Germany was imminent.
 
On Thursday German media had been full of claims about a supposed target for the planned terror attack, with Bild reporting it as Alexanderplatz and Tagesspiegel claiming it was Checkpoint Charlie. Both cited unnamed security sources.
 
But in their statement on Friday police said they had no indication of a possible location for an attack, although they did say that they had evidence that a plan was in the works.
 
The statement said police had been tipped off about supporters of Isis on Januray 10th. Subsequent investigations by police showed these people to be behaving in an "extremely noticeable and conspiratorial manner."
 
The decision was then made to raid properties connected to the suspects in order to seize more evidence about the group's activities.

Police also confirmed to The Local that they are looking into a potential link between the 34-year-old Algerian and the terrorists who killed 130 people in Paris in November.

They have photographic evidence which shows him sharing a meal with someone connected to the Paris attacks, insiders told Spiegel.

Another 25-year-old from Hanover is also being investigated for his connections to the Molenbeek neighbourhood of Brussels, which is a known gathering spot for Islamists. 

More

#Terrorism #islamism #raids #ISIS

Comments

The Local 2016/02/05 17:00

Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also