German prosecutors said they had foiled a suspected terror plot by an Egyptian imam and several Muslim migrants to use a vehicle to plough into a Bavarian Christmas market and kill holiday revellers.
The Islamist preacher, 56, aimed “to kill or injure as many people as possible” by driving a vehicle into a busy festive celebration, according to a statement by public prosecutors.
Three Moroccan men, aged 22, 28 and 30 respectively, pledged to carry out the deed, while a fifth man, a 37-year-old Syrian, encouraged them to follow through, according to the authorities. Four of the men were arrested near the Austrian border, north of Salzburg, according to local outlet PNP. All five are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Similar terror attacks on German Christmas markets in recent years, including one in the eastern city of Magdeburg last year by a Saudi national, and in Berlin in 2016 by a Tunisian, left 19 people dead and hundreds more injured.
“The extent to which Islamist structures may have penetrated Germany gives cause for concern,” said Jens Spahn, chief whip of the Christian Democrats, on X.
Investigations into plot are ongoing. German public broadcaster BR reported that the key tip-off in the case came from Bavarian state intelligence.
“There was no immediate danger to the population,” the Munich public prosecutors’ office told Euractiv.
While the accused “wanted to carry out an attack in the Dingolfing area, there was still no specific target or date for the attack.” Located about an hour’s drive northeast of Munich, Dingolfing is home to BMW’s largest auto factory in Europe.
https://www.euractiv.com/news/egyptian-imam-suspected-in-terror-plot-on-bavarian-christmas-market/
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