Germany Arrests Three Syrian Men on Suspicion of Links to Islamic State

The German government announced that three young Syrian men arrested on Tuesday, September 23, are members of the Islamic State group and were transferred to Germany by the network that trafficked the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in France last November. According to Reuters, the German federal prosecutor stated that special police units arrested these three individuals in the state of Schleswig-Holstein in the north of the country on suspicion of connections to the Islamic State group, and they came to Germany 'to carry out operations they were informed about or were waiting for instructions on.' Thomas de Maizière, the German Interior Minister, said these individuals likely entered Germany in late 2015 with the help of the same network that had transferred the perpetrators of last November's terrorist attacks to Paris. He added, 'All evidence indicates that the same smuggling network that transferred the Paris attack perpetrators brought these individuals to Germany. Evidence shows that their identification documents were made in the same workshop in the area.' After the terrorist attacks in France, Belgium, and Germany last year and this year, security measures have been heightened. This summer, three terrorist attacks were carried out by asylum seekers in Germany, with the Islamic State claiming responsibility for two of them. Last year, about one million refugees and migrants entered Germany, and since the occurrence of terrorist attacks, concerns about Muslim migrants and refugees have increased, impacting the political landscape in Germany. The Christian Social Union party in Bavaria, a traditional ally of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, has pressured her to set an annual cap of 200,000 for accepting refugees and migrants. Merkel has so far refused to accept a specific figure. Over 200 police officers participated in the operation to arrest these three Syrian men, aged between 17 and 26. According to a German television network, they were arrested after police stormed a refugee accommodation in a city north of Hamburg. Police officials have not yet announced what was found during the search of these individuals' homes. The German Interior Minister stated that two of the perpetrators of last year's terrorist attacks in Paris had registered as asylum seekers. He added, 'This indicates that the Islamic State is sending its operatives among refugees to create instability in Europe and Germany.' He further stated, 'The connection of these individuals to the perpetrators of the attacks in France gives this case special significance. We need to see if this connection is only between specific individuals or part of a broader network. This indicates that ISIS does not only intend to attack France, Belgium, Germany, or Italy but has its sights set on all of the West.' The German federal prosecutor also announced that one of the suspects named Maher joined ISIS in September 2015 and received military training in Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the group. According to him, in October, this suspect and two others named Mohammad and Ibrahim joined the operations section outside ISIS territory and traveled to Europe. It is said that the Islamic State provides them with passports, over a thousand dollars in cash, and mobile phones equipped with special communication systems. The suspects reached Germany in November 2015 during the height of the refugee crisis.