Sunday, October 20, 2024

Islamist violence

Germany: police arrest man over Israeli Embassy attack plot


8 hours ago

Police have arrested a man suspected of links to the "Islamic State" group and planning an attack on the Israeli Embassy. Prosecutors say he had been planning to attack the diplomatic mission using firearms.

A Libyan man with alleged ties to the "Islamic State" (IS) militant group was set to appear before Germany's highest court on Sunday, charged with planning an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Berlin.

The man was detained on Saturday in the town of Bernau in the state of Brandenburg, just outside the capital.

Prosecutors said he was planning to use firearms in the attack.

The suspect, named only as Omar A. in line with Germany's strict privacy laws, was detained in a raid by a heavily armed police unit in a Berlin suburb on Saturday.

He was set to be brought before the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe later on Sunday when a judge will decide whether or not he should be held in custody during the investigation.

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said the Libyan national had intended to carry out "a high-profile attack with firearms on the Israeli embassy in Berlin."

It added: "To plan the attack, the suspect exchanged information with an IS member in a messenger chat."

According to German media, the authorities were alerted to the plot by a foreign intelligence service which suggested that, following the attack, the suspect was planning on traveling to a relative in the town of Sankt Augustin near the western city of Bonn before fleeing the county.

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