15-year-old arrested for suspected terror planning
The Leverkusen district court has issued an arrest warrant for a 15-year-old from the Rheinisch-Bergisch district in North Rhine-Westphalia for planning and preparing an Islamist terrorist attack. This was announced by the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office on Wednesday. The teenager was provisionally arrested during a search of his home on Tuesday. The public prosecutor's office did not provide any further details.
As previously reported by security circles, the police in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg had arrested a total of two young people. According to the information, the 15-year-old main suspect and a 16-year-old are said to have discussed the intention to carry out an attack on alleged "infidels". The 15-year-old from North Rhine-Westphalia named a synagogue and a Christmas market as possible targets. The suspicions were first reported by WDR and the Tagesspiegel.
The seriousness of the plans and the question of whether the 15-year-old was possibly just trying to make himself important in his communication with other suspected Islamists initially remained unanswered. However, since he recently named a specific date and a public place, the police took action on Tuesday as a precaution, according to security circles.
According to WDR information, he is said to have announced a terrorist attack in Germany for Friday, December 1, in a video circulated on Telegram. According to the report, he is said to have discussed an attack with incendiary devices or a small truck on a Christmas market or a synagogue in Cologne with the 16-year-old. According to WDR information, both youths are considered sympathizers of the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).
Before the two arrests became known, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution announced on Wednesday that against the backdrop of the Middle East conflict, the risk of possible terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli people and institutions as well as against "the West" had recently increased significantly. In Duisburg, for example, an Islamist terrorist was arrested at the end of October following indications of a possible attack scenario.
The fact that the two are said to have targeted a Christmas market is reminiscent of the attack on December 19, 2016 on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. Back then, an Islamist terrorist drove into the Christmas market in a hijacked truck. The attack killed a total of 13 people, one of whom died years later as a result.
The arrest of the 15-year-old highlights the continued threat of Islamist extremism and terrorism, which has led to increased vigilance and precautions against potential attacks. The involvement of youths in such extremist activities and the use of social media platforms like Telegram to plan and propagate terrorism is a concerning development in the fight against crime.
Source: www.dpa.com
