Germany frees both suspects of terror plot

GERMAN police said yesterday they have released a second suspect detained over an alleged Islamic State terror plot against a major shopping mall, citing lack of evidence.

Authorities had ordered the Limbecker Platz mall in the western city of Essen shut on Saturday over “specific information regarding a possible attack”.

Although there was no announcement of arms or explosives being found, Essen police had detained two men for questioning.

One man was subsequently released late on Saturday, and the second on Sunday, “as there were no grounds for arrest”, said the spokesman.

“However, this does not mean that the investigations are over,” he added.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Sunday confirmed that there was a “link to the socalled Islamic State terror organisation”.

“Some indications or orders” were given by someone who had travelled from Germany to a conflict zone in the Middle East, he added in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.

A German fighter belonging to IS who is in Syria had sought to recruit several people for an attack in Essen, according to a source with knowledge of the case.

Investigators are examining if the jihadist is working with anyone in Germany, added the source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.

Germany has been on high alert since last December’s attack in Berlin, when a Tunisian national hijacked a truck and rammed it into a crowd, killing 12 people.