Two teens arrested over suspected 'Islamist motivated' attack plot
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 9 Dec, 2016 CET.
Updated: Fri 9 Dec 2016 12:42 CET
Two German teens in southern Germany were arrested on Thursday, suspected of planning an "Islamist motivated" attack.
One teen was arrested in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, while the other was detained in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, state prosecutors said on Friday. The adolescents, aged 15 and 17 years old, were suspected of plotting an “Islamist motivated” attack on a public institution in the area of Aschaffenburg.
They reportedly had wanted to obtain guns, but had not yet done so.
According to a report by police and prosecutors, the teens had been detected during an ongoing investigation. Police have seized Islamist propaganda, Isis flags and electronic devices such as smart phones from the pair.
Investigators noted in the report that while there is as of yet no evidence that the suspects would have been able to carry out an attack, the planning of one would still be a crime.
The report also noted that the suspects could have suffered from mental illness.
Germany has been on high alert in its fight against suspected terrorists after major attacks in other European cities, as well as two violent incidents over the summer in southern Germany linked to Isis - an axe rampage on a train in Würzburg that injured five, and a suicide bombing in Ansbach in which 15 people were hurt.
Anti-terror raids across the country have also led to arrests of suspected Isis recruiters, as well as people believed to be plotting attacks for the terror group.
A Syrian asylum seeker was caught in October by police, with the help of other Syrian refugees. Jaber Albakr, who later killed himself in his jail cell, had 1.5 kilograms of explosive material at his apartment and was reportedly considering an attack on a Berlin airport.
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One teen was arrested in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, while the other was detained in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, state prosecutors said on Friday. The adolescents, aged 15 and 17 years old, were suspected of plotting an “Islamist motivated” attack on a public institution in the area of Aschaffenburg.
They reportedly had wanted to obtain guns, but had not yet done so.
According to a report by police and prosecutors, the teens had been detected during an ongoing investigation. Police have seized Islamist propaganda, Isis flags and electronic devices such as smart phones from the pair.
Investigators noted in the report that while there is as of yet no evidence that the suspects would have been able to carry out an attack, the planning of one would still be a crime.
The report also noted that the suspects could have suffered from mental illness.
Germany has been on high alert in its fight against suspected terrorists after major attacks in other European cities, as well as two violent incidents over the summer in southern Germany linked to Isis - an axe rampage on a train in Würzburg that injured five, and a suicide bombing in Ansbach in which 15 people were hurt.
Anti-terror raids across the country have also led to arrests of suspected Isis recruiters, as well as people believed to be plotting attacks for the terror group.
A Syrian asylum seeker was caught in October by police, with the help of other Syrian refugees. Jaber Albakr, who later killed himself in his jail cell, had 1.5 kilograms of explosive material at his apartment and was reportedly considering an attack on a Berlin airport.
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