Three teenagers detained in Germany over ‘Islamist attack’ plot

Friday, April 12, 2024 – Two teenage girls and a boy have been detained by the police in western Germany on suspicion of planning an Islamist attack.

Prosecutors said on Friday, April 12, that the trio, aged from 15 to 16, are “strongly suspected of planning an Islamist-motivated terror attack and of having committed to carrying it out”.

The state’s Central Office for the Prosecution of Terrorism sought an arrest warrant for the teenagers over the Easter holiday. They had formed a chat group and had not set a date or place for the attack, but investigators said they “certainly saw the danger”.

All three had also “committed to carrying out a crime – murder and manslaughter”, Duesseldorf prosecutors added. Investigators did not provide further details on the alleged plot, saying the inquiry was still underway.

Bild newspaper however reported that the trio were allegedly planning to carry out attacks on worshippers in churches and on police stations using knives and Molotov cocktails in following the ideology of the ISIL (ISIS) group. The teenagers were also weighing whether to obtain firearms, the mass circulation daily reported.

Germany has been on high alert for attacks since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, as it has been increasingly scrutinised for its political and military backing of Israel in the conflict that has killed more than 33,500 Palestinians.

German authorities arrested three people in January over an alleged plot to attack the cathedral in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.

Last month, police detained two Afghan citizens linked to ISIL for allegedly planning to attack police near the Swedish parliament in response to the burning of copies of the Quran.

Police in northern Germany said on Thursday, April 11, they were offering a 5,000-euro ($5,330) reward for providing information concerning an arson attack on a synagogue in the city of Oldenburg last week.

Anonymous online supporters and outlets of ISIL have also been threatening to attack football stadiums across Europe, including in Germany. An ISIL-linked outlet posted a picture of a red target marker on groups of people outside Munich’s Allianz Arena ahead of a major match in late March.