German Police Foil Planned Islamist Terror Attack on Augsburg Christmas Market

[mountaineer]

German Police Foil Planned Islamist Terror Attack on Augsburg Christmas Market
The suspect, an asylum seeker, was arrested after surveillance revealed suspicious online activity
Nick Hallett
December 6, 2024   

A 37-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker has been arrested in Augsburg, Germany, for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on the city’s popular Christmas market, local police confirmed.

Authorities acted after discovering evidence that the suspect, named as Ali Al-G, had scouted the market and engaged with Islamic State (IS) operatives online. The arrest has highlighted ongoing security concerns surrounding Christmas markets across Germany, which have been targets for Islamist terrorism in recent years.

Die Welt reports that Ali Al-G was detained on Wednesday evening at an asylum seekers’ residence in Augsburg. Police cited a warrant issued by the Augsburg District Court to secure his deportation under Section 58a of Germany’s Residence Act, a rarely invoked measure for individuals deemed an imminent security threat. According to law enforcement, Al-G had taken photographs of Augsburg’s Christkindlesmarkt and discussed using a vehicle to ram into the crowd, a method reminiscent of previous IS-inspired attacks in Europe.

Investigators revealed that Al-G had a history of posting pro-IS content on social media, including videos glorifying suicide bombings and executions. These activities first came to the attention of German authorities through a foreign intelligence agency. The suspect reportedly maintained contact with IS members and openly supported jihadist ideology in online forums. ...

European Conservative

Multiply this by the number of Christmas markets held each year throughout Europe, and just hope police are alert.

[rangerrebew]

Police Foil Yet Another Christmas Market Terror Plot in Europe.

Police in have foiled yet another terrorist attack plot against a Christmas market, arresting a migrant from Iraq earlier this week. Police in the German city of Augsburg arrested the 37-year-old Iraqi migrant on Wednesday, December 4, after Bavarian authorities were given a tip by a foreign intelligence agency that had monitored the suspect’s online activities.

The Iraqi had allegedly posted online about his support for the terrorist Islamic State group and had posted photographs of the Christmas Market in Augsburg. He had also communicated his desire to drive a vehicle through the market, copying the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack that saw a dozen killed by a rejected Tunisian asylum seeker.
 
The possible foiled pilot is just the latest this year and follows the arrest of an Islamist teenager in Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein region last month. The 17-year-old Turkish-German in this case was also allegedly plotting an attack on the Christmas market in Elmshorn. He looked to drive a truck through the market, killing as many innocent people as possible.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2024/12/07/police-foil-yet-another-christmas-market-terror-plot-in-europe/

[mountaineer]

Germany took in over 1 million Syrians supposedly fleeing Assad in 2015/6. Today they said thank you to Germany by marching through Essen’s Christmas Market shouting “Allau Akbar”.

https://twitter.com/EoinLenihan/status/1866577437900865894