German police arrest 11 for planning 'Islamist terrorist attack' after raids in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate

Berlin: German police arrested 11 people Friday accused of having planned an “Islamist terrorist attack” using guns and a vehicle, prosecutors said. The suspects, whose nationalities were not specified, had plotted to “kill as many ’non-believers’ as possible,” Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_4491831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image of police in Germany. Reuters[/caption] Some 200 police commandos carried out raids in the states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. The chief suspects were two brothers aged 31 from the city of Wiesbaden and a 21-year-old from Offenbach. They had allegedly made contact with various arms dealers, rented a large vehicle and amassed cash to cover the expenses. Police were investigating 10 of those detained for terror-financing and criminal conspiracy. They were aged between 20 and 42 and lived in Frankfurt, Offenbach, Wiesbaden and Mainz. During the raids, police confiscated several knives, more than 20,000 euros ($22,000) in cash, small amounts of drugs and written and electronic documents. Germany is on the alert following several jihadist attacks in recent years. The most deadly was committed in 2016 by 23-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, who killed 12 people when he stole a truck and ploughed it through a Berlin Christmas market.