Two young Islamists are said to have discussed a terrorist attack on a Christmas market or a synagogue in Cologne. The Leverkusen district court issued an arrest warrant against one of the suspects.
The video appeared in a Telegram group of young Islamists – and apparently put the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) on alert. In the video, a young person is said to have called for a “holy war” against the West and announced a terrorist attack in Germany for Friday, December 1st.
After WDR-The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was able to identify the Telegram user: According to this, it is said to be a 15-year-old German-Afghan from Burscheid near Leverkusen in North Rhine-Westphalia.
He is said to have arranged to meet a 16-year-old Russian from Wittstock in Brandenburg and discussed an Islamist terrorist attack involving incendiary devices or a small truck on a Christmas market or a synagogue in Cologne. They are also said to have exchanged information over a specific period of time. A possible departure was also said to have been an option.
Investigations started
On Tuesday, investigators carried out searches in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg. The two teenagers suspected of terrorism were taken into custody. The Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Neuruppin Public Prosecutor’s Office are investigating. According to the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Leverkusen District Court has now issued an arrest warrant against the 15-year-old suspect on “suspicion of planning and preparing a terrorist-motivated attack.” According to the prosecutors, further details cannot be provided at the moment given the accused’s young age.
Whether the suspects actually prepared attacks and, if so, how specific any plans were, is now the subject of the investigation. Both young people are considered sympathizers of the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS); the boy from Brandenburg is classified by the local security authorities as a “relevant person” in the Islamist scene. He is said to have attracted attention in the past by spreading jihadist propaganda.
Increased Danger situation
The security authorities are currently assuming an increased threat from radical Islamists. It is said that the war situation in the Middle East, as well as the Koran burnings in Sweden in recent months, are leading to increased radicalization and willingness to take action in the Islamist scene. There have recently been several arrests of terrorist suspects in other European countries and also fatal Islamist attacks, for example on Swedish tourists in Brussels.
“The flood of digital images on social media, often paired with fake news, contributes to emotionalization and can act as a radicalization factor,” said Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), in reference to the current war situation in the Gaza Strip. “We have been observing the declared desire of Islamists to carry out attacks in the West for some time, and I have repeatedly emphasized that an Islamist attack can be carried out in Germany any day.” The danger is more real and higher than it has been for a long time.
Action-oriented generation
It was only at the end of October that an Islamist known to the police who was suspected of planning an attack on a pro-Israel demonstration was arrested in Duisburg. 29-year-old Tarik S. comes from Bielefeld, belonged to the Islamist scene in the Herford area and traveled to Syria in 2013, where he joined the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS). After his return to Germany in 2016, S. was arrested and sentenced to five years in youth prison by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court for, among other things, membership in a terrorist organization.
For some time now, terrorist investigators have also noticed a trend in which minors are increasingly becoming the focus of attention as potential attackers. A new generation has grown up within the scene that is less ideologically stable, but more action-oriented, reports constitutional protection officers.
For several years now, the domestic intelligence service has also been allowed to observe underage extremists, store their data and secretly monitor communications. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is not permitted to recruit minors as sources or to share minors’ data with foreign partner authorities.
Palina Milling, WDR, tagesschau, November 29th, 2023 2:53 p.m