Five Suspects Arrested in Alleged Islamist Plot Against Bavarian Christmas Market
German authorities have detained five men in Bavaria accused of planning a radical Islamist–motivated vehicle attack on a Christmas market. Investigators say the plot was disrupted at an early stage through coordinated action by security services.
The Munich General Prosecutor’s Office and Bavarian police confirmed that three Moroccan men aged 30, 28, and 22, along with a 56‑year‑old Egyptian imam and a 37‑year‑old Syrian, were detained in Bavaria on suspicion of planning a vehicle attack on a Christmas market in the Dingolfing‑Landau area. Four suspects were placed in pretrial detention while the Syrian was held in preventive custody pending clarification of his role. Authorities stated the Egyptian suspect had “called for a vehicle attack… with the aim of killing or injuring as many people as possible” in a mosque, and the Moroccans allegedly agreed to carry it out. A spokesperson for the General Prosecutor’s Office stated that “the plan was to carry out an attack on a Christmas market using a vehicle,” though officials did not specify which market was targeted. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said, “Thanks to the excellent cooperation of our security authorities, several suspects were arrested in a very short time and a potentially Islamist‑motivated attack in Bavaria was prevented.” The arrests followed intensive investigations led by the Bavarian Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism, without involvement from foreign intelligence services.
Photo: Welt (video screenshot)