Spiegel: Arrest of Two Muslim Extremist Germans in Iran

The German publication Spiegel reported that "two Muslim extremist German citizens," who were likely seeking to carry out terrorist attacks in Berlin, have been detained in Iran since late last year. According to the report, Iran has not provided Germany with precise information on this matter, but it is speculated that both detainees are of Turkish descent. One of the individuals is named Zamar, and it is suspected that he traveled to Syria or Afghanistan to connect with "jihadist" groups. He had previously been wanted by the Frankfurt prosecutor's office for "preparing dangerous anti-government operations" as well as money laundering and forgery. There is no detailed information about the identity of the second individual, but it is speculated that he is named Murat (or Morad). German security officials are aware of a person with the same description, who they believe served the ISIS group and has been killed. The report also mentions another German citizen named Munir, who was detained in Iran after clashing with Iranian security forces about four years ago while returning from Waziristan, Pakistan. According to the report, Yasin, Munir's brother, was killed in that clash, and Munir was injured. Previously, Islamic Republic officials had reported the arrest of individuals attempting to cross Iran to join ISIS without providing details. The shared border of Iran with Pakistan and Afghanistan is noted as one of the main routes for the entry of Taliban and ISIS members. The Iranian parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran were targeted in two simultaneous attacks on June 7, 2017, for which ISIS claimed responsibility hours later. In that attack, 17 people were killed and over 50 were injured. Besides a few attackers who were killed, eight suspects involved in the attacks were arrested and executed. Following these two attacks, Iranian security and judicial officials reported the arrest of dozens of individuals suspected of having connections with ISIS in various regions of Iran. In response to the Tehran attack, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on June 18, 2017, that in retaliation for the Tehran attacks, they targeted one of ISIS's centers in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, with missiles. The number of missiles fired was reported to be six, and the IRGC considered the operation "successful," although the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing military officials, stated that only two of the missiles hit their intended targets.