Special forces storm an apartment in Duisburg and arrest a convicted Islamist. The suspect is said to have planned an attack. However, Faeser does not see an increased risk situation.
After the arrest of an Islamist threat in Duisburg, the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office initiated an investigation. This is about “suspicion of conspiring to commit a crime – murder,” said a spokesman. The man was temporarily arrested and the allegations were being examined, as was his presentation to the judge.
There is evidence that the accused had “contact in a criminally relevant manner” with a person abroad. In 2017, the man was sentenced by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court to a five-year youth prison sentence for membership in the terrorist group Islamic State and served the entire sentence.
Police: “Indications of possible attack scenario”
Special forces took the man into custody in his apartment on Tuesday. The joint federal and state counterterrorism center was also involved in the police operation. According to the Essen police, there had previously been “indications of a possible attack scenario”.
According to the “Bild” newspaper and “Spiegel”, the possible attack plans were directed against a pro-Israel demonstration. According to dpa information, the man is said to have found out how to drive a truck into a meeting. However, there were no indications of an imminent attack.
According to “Spiegel”, the tip came from a foreign intelligence service. The authorities feared that the suspect could use a truck to which he had easy access.
The searches in the apartment were completed on Wednesday night, a police spokesman said. “We are continuing to investigate at full speed.” Police initially did not provide any information about the man’s age.
Despite the arrest, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) sees no change in the threat situation in Germany. “We have no increased, concrete danger,” she assured in Berlin. At the same time, the minister emphasized: “We are watching this very closely – especially now in these times.” With a view to the situation in the Middle East, all security authorities have been alerted.
Source: Stern
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