2016 German terror plot
The 2016 German terror plot was a plot by ISIL to commit a large terror attack in Germany in 2016.[1] Three teams of attackers should travel to Germany, to prepare and execute a large scale attack on a music festival, the name of which hasn't been published yet.[2][3][4][5] The plot was made public only in October 2018, when NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung led an interview with a German ISIL supporter.[3] Bundeskriminalamt and Bundesanwaltschaft (Federal Prosecutor's Office) led the investigations.[2] The German Public Prosecutor General, Peter Frank, confirmed the plot, saying: "For us, the facts in this case were very concrete and resilient."[6]
Incidents
The Hildesheim ISIL supporter Oguz G. and his Salzgitter wife Marcia M., who emigrated to Syria in support of ISIL in 2015, played a central role. When Kurdish units conquered the then ISIL capital Rakka in October 2017, the two turned to the Kurdish authorities, which detained them in the Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria. Marcia M. had been trying to recruit potential supporters from Syria and to persuade female Islamists in northern Germany via the internet to marry ISIL fighters as a camouflage for the operation,[2] but came to an informant of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The recruited women should then have invited the fighters to Germany so that they could commit the planned attack there. The orders for the attacks could go back to a senior ISIL official with the fighting name Abu Mussab al-Almani alias the Swiss Thomas C., who is said to have been killed fighting in Syria.[6]
The plan ultimately failed because of the knowledge of the investigators and also because of the disintegration of the ISIL militia in Syria.[6]
Legal proceedings
Arrest warrants against Oguz G. and Marcia M. have been released; they are waiting for their extradition to Germany.[2]
See also
- 2016 Ansbach bombing
- 2016 Chemnitz terrorism plot
- 2016 Düsseldorf terrorism plot
- 2016 Ludwigshafen bombing plot
- Democratic Federation of Northern Syria
- Rock am Ring and Rock im Park#2017 festival
- Islamic terrorism in Europe
References
- (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "German intelligence foiled 2016 Islamic State terror attack | DW | 18.10.2018". DW.COM. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
- Behörden durchkreuzten IS-Anschlagspläne in Deutschland, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 17 October 2018
- ISIS plante Terroranschlag auf deutsches Musikfestival, Berliner Zeitung, 17 October 2018
- Behörden vereiteln Anschlag in Deutschland, n-tv.de
- IS-Terrormiliz hatte offenbar Pläne für Anschlag auf Musikfest in Deutschland, Der Spiegel, 17 October 2018
- Berichte: IS-Anschlag auf Festival in Deutschland verhindert, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 17 October 2018