German police have arrested five men suspected of plotting an attack on a Christmas market. The suspects — three Moroccan nationals aged 22, 28 and 30, a 56-year-old Egyptian, and a 37-year-old Syrian — were detained on Friday in connection with an alleged Islamist-motivated plan to ram a vehicle into crowds at a market in the Dingolfing-Landau district of southern Bavaria, northeast of Munich.
Prosecutors allege the Egyptian, reported by German media to be an imam at a local mosque, called for the attack with the intent of killing or injuring as many people as possible. The three Moroccans are accused of agreeing to carry it out, while the Syrian is suspected of encouraging them.
All five appeared before a magistrate on Saturday and were remanded in custody, with formal arrest warrants issued for four of them.
Authorities have not disclosed the exact market targeted or the planned timing of the attack, though they believe the threat has been averted.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann praised the « excellent cooperation between our security services » for preventing what he described as a potentially Islamist-motivated incident.
The arrests come amid heightened vigilance following past attacks on German Christmas markets, including the deadly car-ramming in Magdeburg last December that killed six people and injured hundreds, as well as the 2016 Berlin truck attack that claimed 12 lives.
Christmas markets remain hugely popular across Germany, drawing large crowds and tourists, with security measures significantly bolstered in recent years.
The operation, directed by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office and its Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ZET), involved intensive investigations by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Arrests were carried out by Lower Bavaria Police Headquarters officers, supported by special forces and the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office. No foreign intelligence services participated.
The planned vehicle-ramming was set for the 2025 Christmas season, with the Egyptian facing charges of attempted incitement to murder for allegedly calling for it in a local mosque. The fifth suspect (the Syrian) remains in preventive police custody under the Police Duties Act, distinct from the pretrial detention of the other four in separate facilities.
Authorities have released no further details due to the ongoing investigation and emphasise that the presumption of innocence applies.
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