A 17-year-old is alleged to have planned an Islamist-motivated bomb attack in Hamburg targeting locations such as a shopping mall or a police station. Special forces arrested the Syrian teenager on Thursday, the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday. He has been remanded in custody.
According to investigators, the suspect was inspired by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and had already obtained fertiliser as a potential base material for constructing an explosive device. During a search of the teenager's premises, officers also recovered liquid barbecue lighter fluid, a knife, and a balaclava. As an alternative to a bomb attack, the suspect had also reportedly considered using incendiary devices or a knife.
The suspect's stated goal was to kill "an unspecified number of 'infidels'," the General Prosecutor's Office said. In addition to a shopping centre and a police station, he had also identified a bar as a possible target. Authorities did not disclose how far advanced the preparations for carrying out the attack had been. The investigation is being conducted on suspicion of "preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state and terrorism financing," prosecutors said on Monday.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office, the investigation was based "significantly" on intelligence provided by Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). The authority also confirmed that a psychiatric assessment of the 17-year-old suspect had already been ordered prior to his arrest, in connection with a separate investigation into suspected violations of the Associations Act and other offences. No further details on that matter were provided.
The IS group formerly controlled large swathes of territory in war-torn Syria and neighbouring Iraq. Its supporters have also carried out numerous deadly attacks in Western countries, including Germany. Among them was a truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market in 2016 and a knife attack at a city festival in Solingen in 2024.
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