DUESSELDORF, DE – Four adolescents suspected of plotting an Islamist extremist attack have been apprehended in Germany, according to official reports on Friday.
The three suspects, two females aged 15 and 16, and a 15-year-old male, hail from different regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most densely populated state in Germany. They were taken into custody following the issuance of arrest warrants over the Easter weekend by a local court, as stated by the prosecutors in Duesseldorf.
The fourth suspect, a 16-year-old male, was detained in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, as reported by the German news agency, dpa.
The trio arrested in western Germany are believed to have expressed readiness to execute an “Islamist-inspired terror attack” and were in the planning stages of such an act, according to a statement from the prosecutors. The statement did not disclose the level of advancement of the plans, citing the young age of the suspects and the ongoing investigation as reasons for withholding further details.
The suspects are currently held in detention, facing potential charges of expressing readiness to commit murder and manslaughter and preparing a severe act of violence.
Herbert Reul, the state Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, revealed that the investigation was initiated due to the 16-year-old female suspect’s alleged plans to leave Germany to join the Islamic State group.
Reports suggest that her mobile phone chats, discussing potential attacks in Dortmund, Duesseldorf, or Cologne, as well as churches and synagogues in her hometown of Iserlohn, led investigators to the other suspects. The news agency, citing anonymous security sources, reported that the teenagers had not yet finalized a specific attack plan with a set time and place.