German authorities have arrested five men suspected of plotting a vehicle attack on a Christmas market, raising fresh security concerns ahead of the festive season.
The suspects—three Moroccan nationals, an Egyptian, and a Syrian—were detained on Friday in connection with plans to target a market in Bavaria, southern Germany. Authorities said they believe the plot was driven by an “Islamist motive.”
Prosecutors allege the 56-year-old Egyptian suspect called for a vehicle attack aimed at killing or injuring as many people as possible, while the three Moroccan men allegedly agreed to carry out the assault. The Syrian suspect, a 37-year-old, is accused of encouraging the others to proceed with the plan.
Officials have not disclosed when the attack was intended to take place or the exact location, but investigators believe the target was a Christmas market in the Dingolfing-Landau district, northeast of Munich. German newspaper Bild reported that the Egyptian suspect served as an imam at a local mosque.
Police said the Moroccan suspects—aged 30, 28, and 22—were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. All five appeared before a magistrate on Saturday and remain in custody.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann credited strong coordination among security agencies for preventing what he described as a potentially Islamist-motivated attack.
Germany has remained on heightened alert following previous attacks on Christmas markets, including the 2016 Berlin lorry attack that killed 12 people and a deadly incident in Magdeburg last December. Christmas markets attract large crowds nationwide, prompting increased security measures in recent years.
