Six men arrested over ‘Christmas market’ terror plot in Germany

‘The accused are under arrest. Investigations are ongoing as to whether there is evidence to press charges’

SIX Syrian men were arrested in raids across Germany yesterday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack on behalf of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

According to unconfirmed reports the target of the planned attack was a traditional Christmas market that is due to open in the western city of Essen next week. The arrests come 11 months after Anis Amri, a rejected Tunisian asylum seeker, killed 12 people and injured more than 50 when he drove a stolen lorry into a Christmas market in Berlin.

Officials have yet to comment on the target of the latest planned attack. A statement by prosecutors said the men were “planning an attack with weapons or explosives on a public target in Germany”. They are also being held on suspicion of Isil membership. “The accused are under arrest and are being held in police custody,” prosecutors said in a statement. “Investigations are ongoing as to whether there is evidence to press charges.” The plot had not advanced beyond the planning stage and no further information is being released because investigations are still ongoing. The arrested men are all Syrian nationals aged between 20 and 28 and all entered Germany as asylum seekers. They are believed to have known each other in Syria before travelling to Europe.

Cities across Germany have ordered new security measures for Christmas markets this year to prevent any repeat of last December’s attack, including heavy concrete bollards to stop vehicles being driven into crowds.

Details of the new plot were not clear, but it appears from prosecutors’ statements the arrested men were planning to use a different means of attack involving guns or explosives.

More than 500 police officers took part in coordinated dawn raids across the country to arrest the suspects, who were held in the cities of Essen, Kassel, Hannover and Leipzig. According to unconfirmed German press reports, it was a tip-off from other asylum seekers, who recognised the suspects as former Isil fighters in Syria, that alerted authorities to the plot.

Four of the men entered Germany as asylum seekers in September 2014 – before Angela Merkel opened the country’s borders in her controversial refugee policy. The other two men entered the country in 2015.