German authorities have foiled a terror attack on the Augsburg Christmas market by arresting a terror suspect. According to Augsburg Police, a 37-year-old Ali Al-G. was arrested in shared housing for asylum seekers in Augsburg. A spokeswoman for the Bavarian Police Headquarters, Schwaben Nord, stated:
“An arrest warrant from the Augsburg District Court was issued against the 37-year-old to secure his deportation.”
Security authorities said that the asylum seeker from Iraq had taken pictures of the “Christkindlesmarkt” as part of a supposed spying operation. For security reasons, the authorities had thus decided to take action. According to reports, the man had already been in the limelight because he had drawn attention with posts glorifying ISIS on social media.
As reported by German media, a tip-off regarding Internet activities came from a foreign intelligence service. Ali Al-G. was in touch with IS members, repeatedly praised jihad, and published videos of executions and suicide episodes in which vehicles fitted with explosives were used as lethal weapons.
After the alleged spying operation, the authorities worried about a similar scenario for the “Christkindlesmarkt.” Ali Al-G. also talked about driving a car via a Christmas market. The anti-terror forces accordingly decided to take action. Ali Al-G. came to Germany at the start of 2023 and applied for asylum.
German Christmas markets have been the target of terrorists before. In one of the most destructive attacks, in December 2016, a Tunisian guy with links to IS drove a hijacked truck into a Christmas market gathering on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, killing 13 individuals. Germany is heading to a snap election in February after the failure of its three-party alliance last month, amid a fierce debate over migration and a swell in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
