Germany thwarts terrorist plot at Christmas market.

(CLO) Germany has successfully thwarted a terrorist attack plot with extremist Islamic motives targeting a Christmas market in Bavaria.

According to prosecutors in Munich, the group had planned to use a car to ram into a crowd at a Christmas market in the Dingolfing area, with the aim of "killing or injuring as many people as possible." The arrests were made on December 12.

Authorities identified the mastermind as a 56-year-old Egyptian man who called for the attack on a mosque in the area. Three Moroccan men, aged 22 to 30, agreed to participate. Additionally, a 37-year-old Syrian man is suspected of playing a role in promoting and encouraging the group to act.

A Christmas market in Germany. Photo: CC/LH DD/Dittrich

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told Bild, “Thanks to the excellent cooperation of our security agencies, many suspects were apprehended in a short period of time,” thus “preventing a potentially Islamist-motivated attack in Bavaria.”

Four of the five suspects have been formally arrested. The remaining suspect is being held in custody pending further investigation.

This plot once again raises the alarm about the ever-present threat to Christmas markets – the open and crowded spaces in Germany.

It brings to mind heartbreaking tragedies of the past, such as the 2016 truck attack in Berlin that killed 12 people, or the SUV that plowed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg last December, claiming the lives of 6 people and injuring more than 300.

Source: https://congluan.vn/duc-triet-pha-am-muu-khung-bo-cho-giang-sinh-10322523.html