Germany says it foiled extremist plot to attack Christmas market
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Some cities in Germany have cancelled their beloved Christmas markets because of the mounting costs and complexity of ensuring security.
PHOTO: AFP
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BERLIN – The German authorities said on Dec 13 they had arrested five men on suspicion of involvement in an extremist plot to plough a vehicle into people at a Christmas market.
An Egyptian, three Moroccans and a Syrian were detained on Dec 12 over a plan to carry out an attack in southern Bavaria state, police and prosecutors said in a statement.
The Egyptian, aged 56, allegedly called in a mosque for an attack to be carried out on a market in the Dingolfing-Landau district “using a vehicle in order to kill or injure as many people as possible”, according to the statement.
The Moroccans – aged 30, 28 and 22 – allegedly then agreed to carry out the attack, while the Syrian, 37, encouraged them.
Investigators suspect “an Islamist motive” for the plot.
All the suspects were brought before a magistrate on Dec 13 after their arrest and are in custody.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told German newspaper Bild that the “excellent cooperation between our security services” had helped to prevent “a potentially Islamist-motivated attack”.
The authorities did not say where the suspects were arrested.
It was also not clear when the attack was supposed to take place, how detailed the plans were and which market was to be targeted.
Rising security costs
The German authorities have been on high alert for attacks on Christmas markets after a car ramming attack in 2024 on a market in the city of Magdeburg killed six and wounded hundreds of others.
Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen – who is a critic of Islam and an adherent of far-right views and radical conspiracy theories – went on trial in November accused of carrying out the rampage. The 51-year-old Saudi psychiatrist admitted to ploughing a rented sport utility vehicle through the market.
In 2016, an extremist drove a truck into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.
The rampages have fuelled a heated debate about the security of the festive installations, which are hosted by nearly every town and consist of stalls with merchants selling gifts, hot mulled wine, sausages and sweets.
Some cities have cancelled the beloved winter tradition because of the mounting costs and complexity of ensuring security.
Magdeburg’s Christmas market went ahead in 2025, but received approval only shortly before opening. AFP
