Four young people from North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg are said to have planned an Islamist terrorist attack. The German Police Union (DPolG) now spoke of a particularly worrying case.
The suspects do not correspond to the prevailing image of suspected extremists with an Islamist background, i.e. around 30 years old, male and possibly battle-hardened, said DPolG federal chairman Rainer Wendt. Investigators have warned that Islamist influencers are now particularly targeting young people. In Switzerland, security authorities also arrested three young people aged 15, 16 and 18. The detainees are accused of criminal acts of preparation for intentional killing and of supporting the banned terrorist organization IS. According to security circles, the young suspects had no specific plan with a time and place, but discussed attack in Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Cologne as well as Cologne and Dusseldorf.. The public prosecutor’s office said it at the weekend that no information would be given about the interim status of the ongoing investigation.