Large-Scale Raids in Germany: Six “Refugee” ISIS Fighters Arrested For Preparing Attack on Christmas Market

From Vlad Tepes Blog:

According to Focus, they have learnt from investigator circles that the arrested suspects were photographing rubbish bins, installed at hip height, on Kennedyplatz, where the Christmas Market will open soon. Investigators think this means the suspects intended to plant explosive devices in the rubbish bins. 

The suspects were also scouting the Limbecker Platz shopping mall and the nearby Rathaus-Galerie mall. According to Hessenschau, data storage devices, mobile phones and laptops, and documents were seized. The investigators also found city maps of Essen with the Christmas Market location marked.

During large-scale raids in several German states on Tuesday, six alleged members of the Jihadist militia IS were arrested. They are suspected of having been preparing “an attack with weapons or explosives on a public target in Germany”, the General Prosecution Frankfurt announced. 

The suspects accordingly planned an attack on the Christmas Market Essen, Hessischer Rundfunk Hessische Rundfunk learned from sources among the investigators. The plans for the attack were not yet completed. 

According to „Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger“ they probably planned an attack on a shopping mall in Essen. As the „Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger“ (Wednesday edition) learned from sources among the investigators, one of the men, a 20-year-old asylum seeker, together with other persons, has been taking photographs of the shopping centre Limbecker Platz, Essen, shortly ago. 

The men pretended they were students of architecture. 

While they carried out this operation, they were allegedly already being observed by the authorities. The investigators became suspicious, as already in March, there was a terror threat to this shopping centre in downtown Essen. It remained close for several days. It is still not clear who was behind the threat. These information are yet to be officially confirmed. 

Police arrest six Syrians The investigations are concerning six Syrians between 20 and 28 years old. Four of them are in Germany since December 2014, and two came as asylum seekers late summer 2015. They are suspected to be members of a foreign terrorist organization and of preparing a grave subversive act of violence.