Authorities in Germany have detained five men accused of preparing an Islamist-inspired vehicle assault on a Christmas market in the country’s south, a plot officials say was intended to cause mass casualties.
According to the BBC, the suspects — three Moroccan nationals, an Egyptian citizen, and a Syrian man — were taken into custody on Friday for allegedly conspiring to drive a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in the Dingolfing-Landau region of Bavaria. While investigators have yet to confirm the exact location, the planned attack is believed to have targeted a market northeast of Munich.
DW reports that prosecutors have issued formal arrest warrants for four of the accused, while the fifth remains held under preventative measures. Surveillance reportedly uncovered conversations in which the men discussed using a vehicle as a weapon in the attack.
French outlet Le Monde identified the 56-year-old Egyptian suspect as an imam who purportedly urged others at a local mosque to carry out the attack. German authorities allege that the Moroccan suspects — ages 22, 28, and 30 — agreed to commit the assault, while the 37-year-old Syrian man is accused of encouraging the group.
All five suspects were brought before a magistrate on Saturday and have been remanded in custody pending further investigation. Officials have not revealed the locations of the arrests or how far the planning process had progressed.
Bavaria’s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, praised the swift action by authorities, stating the arrests were possible because of “excellent cooperation between our security services,” and emphasized that the suspects were apprehended before they could attempt the attack.
The alleged conspiracy emerges amid ongoing concerns about security at Germany’s Christmas markets, which have previously been targeted in deadly vehicle attacks.
Just last December, an SUV plowed into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six and injuring more than 300 people. The driver, 51-year-old Saudi national Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, is currently on trial and has acknowledged extremist views and conspiracy beliefs.
Germany is still haunted by the 2016 Berlin Christmas market massacre, when a Tunisian asylum-seeker who swore allegiance to the Islamic State murdered 12 and wounded 56 after driving a truck into holiday crowds.
