“This was a smooth process of cooperation between the police forces of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia”, said Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz.
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Authorities in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate said they arrested the suspect Friday in Mutterstadt, but little information was available on the specifics of the reported threat.
In July, the southern state of Bavaria suffered two attacks carried out by asylum seekers and claimed by the Islamic State group – an axe rampage on a train in Wuerzburg and a suicide bombing in Ansbach.
At this stage, “prosecutors are investigating several people in connection with possible acts of violence in Syria and possible vague attack plans here in Germany”, he said. The teenage attacker, who was registered as an Afghan asylum seeker but believed to be a Pakistani national, wounded four using an ax and a knife.
The suspect was thought to be acting on behalf of a high-ranking member of the terrorist group.
She said that no further details about the case could be revealed, since the investigation was ongoing. No arrests were made.
Meanwhile, Bild reports that Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, is preparing a new legislative framework that will reduce the scope of personal privacy, allowing doctors to report individuals they believe can pose a threat to public safety.
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Germany is on high alert after a spate of attacks since last month that have left 15 dead, including four attackers, and dozens injured.
