Officials announced on Tuesday that German authorities had arrested a Syrian man suspected of plotting an explosives attack motivated by Islamic extremism.
Federal police reported that officers apprehended the 28-year-old man early Tuesday morning in the northern city of Hamburg based on a warrant issued by a court for suspected terrorism financing offenses.
The individual is suspected of attempting to acquire substances online that would have enabled him to manufacture an explosive belt “in order to carry out an attack against civilian targets,” according to investigators.
According to police, the man’s 24-year-old sibling from the southern town of Kempten encouraged and supported him in his actions. According to the German news agency dpa, the younger male was also detained.
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Federal police described the brothers as being motivated by “radical Islamist and jihadist” views. The brothers’ names were not immediately disclosed.
Authorities stated that they lacked specific information regarding the attack’s intended target.
Officials reported that police conducted searches in Hamburg and Kempten and seized a significant quantity of evidence, including chemical substances. Approximately 250 officers participated in the operation.
The top German security official thanked the police, stating that their actions “have prevented possible Islamist attack plans.”
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated that the incident demonstrated that the threat posed by Islamic extremism remained high and vowed that German security agencies would continue to treat all information regarding such threats seriously.
“Germany remains a direct target of Islamist terrorist organizations,” she stated. The threat posed by lone perpetrators motivated by Islamist ideology is a further significant concern.
Separately, authorities in western Germany announced on Tuesday that they are investigating a suspected extremist motive in last week’s attack on a gym in Duisburg. A 26-year-old Syrian was apprehended days after the assault that left four men gravely injured, one of whom remains in critical condition.
Prosecutors in Düsseldorf stated that an examination of the suspect’s mobile suggested “there may have been an Islamist motive” for the attack, but declined to elaborate. The suspect is presently detained on suspicion of attempted murder and additional offenses.
