German authorities have arrested a Syrian man accused of plotting to kill soldiers, as investigations continue into the suspected terror-related scheme.
A Syrian migrant has been apprehended by law enforcement in Bavaria, Germany for purportedly planning to fatally stab numerous soldiers. The detainment coincides with the country’s heightened border security measures against “Islamist terror organizations.”
According to a statement given by prosecutors in Munich on Friday, the individual aged 27 was taken into police custody for planning an action that posed a significant threat to the state’s security.
According to the statement, prosecutors have labeled the accused as a “purported adherent of an extremist Islamic ideology”. Recently, he procured two 40 cm knives and plotted an assault on Bundeswehr soldiers in Hof – where they were expected to gather near a military base during lunchtime.
According to the statement, the Syrian individual had planned to cause a significant number of casualties with an aim of drawing people’s attention and instilling a sense of apprehension among the populace.
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An individual who arrived in Germany seeking asylum back in 2014 has been identified as a suspect, according to Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann. The said minister shared with reporters that the police got an anonymous tip from someone belonging to his social group last Wednesday describing him as an erratic drug abuser.
After former chancellor Angela Merkel declared that there would be no limit on asylum applications and opened Germany’s borders in 2015, the country has become a home to almost one million Syrian refugees.
Germany is abandoning Merkel’s approach following a decade of bombings, stabbings, shootings and truck attacks. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser declared on Monday that border controls would be reintroduced for the next six months to restrict illegal immigration and tackle security concerns posed by Islamist extremist organizations as well as global criminal networks.
Less than a month after an attack at a “Diversity Festival” in Solingen where three people were killed and another eight injured by a Syrian asylum seeker who turned himself to police, Faeser made an announcement. The terrorist group formerly known as ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
After the occurrences of attacks, there was a notable increase in state election wins for both Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) parties in Thuringia and Saxony. In Brandenburg, where another state election is scheduled to take place later this month, AfD has emerged as the leading contender according to polls.
