Status: 10.12.2021 2:59 p.m.
The Hamburg police said they had thwarted an Islamist terrorist attack. A 20-year-old is said to have possessed chemicals for building a bomb. He was arrested back in August.
According to their own words, the police in Hamburg prevented an Islamist attack. On August 26, the police arrested a 20-year-old German-Moroccan, said Interior Senator Andy Grote at a press conference. “We are dealing with a very, very serious matter here.” According to the information, the man had tried to buy a pistol and a hand grenade on the Darknet and came across an undercover agent.
Investigations had also given indications that although he was registered in Wismar, he was staying with his parents in Hamburg. The police said that both apartments had already been searched on August 26th. Among other things, propaganda videos from Islamist groups and documents for the manufacture of weapons were confiscated.
It was also found that the man had looked up instructions on how to build a bomb on the Internet. That is why the Central Office for State Protection of the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office took over the procedure.
Andy Grote, Senator of the Ministry of the Interior and Sport, on the attack that was prevented in Hamburg
Tagesschau24 10:00 a.m., 10.12.2021
“Various substances and objects” for bomb construction
A little later, the investigators found out that the accused also used an apartment reported to his cousin in the Hamburg district of Jenfeld. During the search of this apartment in November, “various substances and objects” were found that would have been suitable for the production of black powder and for the construction of an explosive device, the police said.
According to the information, there were chemical substances and several hundred nuts and bolts. According to the police, a bomb made from it could have caused “significant or even fatal injuries”.
General Federal Prosecutor will take over?
After further investigations in the area, the state security obtained 17 search warrants from acquaintances of the 20-year-old who were not suspicious in various federal states. The homes of those concerned were searched on Wednesday this week. Evidence such as smartphones, computers and data carriers were confiscated.
The state security is currently advising the Federal Public Prosecutor whether he can take over the proceedings “against the background of new findings”, it said.
Background to the arrested
The suspect, who is in custody, is the son of an Islamist who has long been known to the Hamburg authorities, said the head of the state security department in the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), Claus Cortnumme.
The Moroccan father was jointly responsible for the Al-Quds mosque, where the members of the Hamburg terrorist cell around Mohammed Atta met before the September 11, 2001 attacks.