German forces have arrested two men suspected of links to Islamic State militants preparing an attack on Berlin, police and prosecutors say.
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Thursday’s raids carried out in part by special forcestook place on four flats and two offices in Berlin and also inproperties in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
The suspects had allegedly planned to meet in Berlin to carry out terrorist attacks, DW said, citing police sources.
Earlier today, the leader of the extremist Islamic State group in Yemen was killed in a drone strike, residents and officials said.
German media reported that central Berlin landmarks and tourist attractions Checkpoint Charlie and Alexanderplatz were targets.
Three others, a woman and two men for whom there were existing arrest warrants, were taken into custody. The suspect had arrived in Germany last autumn, and was registered as an asylum seeker, according to national news agency DPA.
Germany is now in high alerts after the police arrested five Algerians being linked to be Islamists targeting the city of Berlin.
Prosecutors in Frankfurt also suspect the unnamed man of posting a symbol resembling the IS flag, forbidden in Germany, on his personal page on a social media site. Investigators did, however, seize several laptops, mobile phones and other materials.
Berlin police spokesman Stefan Redlich announced the developments after police conducted a series of raids in Berlin in search of the suspects.
But the latest arrests risk compounding fears that jihadists are taking advantage of the massive influx of asylum seekers to slip into Europe undetected.
According to NBC News, one of the detained men lives in the North Rhine-Westphalia and has undergone militarily training in Syria.
Play video “Where Did Islamic State Come From?”
‘We have still every reason to be vigilant and careful’.
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Authorities say they are going ahead with the five-day festivities, but police numbers have been doubled to prevent similar attacks. “Therefore there should be a systematic crackdown on the Islamist scene, especially if there are likely links to IS”, he said, referring to ISIS.
