German police have arrested three young men—two brothers aged 15 and 20 with Lebanese roots, and a 22-year-old German-Turkish man—over an alleged terror plot targeting Christmas markets in Frankfurt or Mannheim.
The suspects were reportedly armed with an assault rifle, ammunition, and knives, and had already begun preparations for the attack.
Investigations revealed that the trio shared a “consolidated religious ideology” and had strong ties to the Islamic State. They had discussed their plans with acquaintances, some of whom had been involved in anti-terrorism investigations years ago. German media reported that the brothers acquired the assault rifle at Frankfurt’s railway station from a suspected organized crime contact.
Baden-Württemberg’s interior minister, Thomas Strobl, praised the police’s swift action, calling the arrests an example of effective counterterrorism efforts. Mannheim, where two of the suspects were arrested, had recently been in the news for a separate Islamist attack.
This foiled plot serves as a reminder of the threats German Christmas markets face, recalling the tragic 2016 Berlin attack, where a Tunisian man drove a truck into a market, killing 13 people. In response, cities like Quedlinburg have fortified their markets with concrete blocks, nicknamed “Merkel Stones,” in reference to former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 refugee policy.
