Germany targets teens allegedly plotting attacks on migrants
German federal prosecutors launched a crackdown on a suspected far-right extremist cell accused of planning violent attacks, authorities said on Wednesday.
In a series of early morning raids, police took into custody five male suspects between the ages of 14 and 18 in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Hesse, the Federal Prosecutor General's office said.
The group they are accused of being a part of calls itself the Last Wave of Defence and is alleged to have plotted attacks targeting refugees and political opponents.
"The members of this organization see themselves as the last resort for the defence of the 'German nation,'" the office said in a statement
"Their goal is to bring about a collapse of the democratic system in the Federal Republic of Germany through acts of violence, primarily against migrants and political opponents."
Four of those detained are accused of membership in a terrorist organization and one of supporting such an organization. The Federal Prosecutor's Office also lists attempted murder, arson and property damage among the charges.
Police also began searching 13 properties in the states of Saxony and Thuringia in an operation related to three further German nationals who have already been remanded in custody, prosecutors said.
Three of the detained are said to have been ringleaders of the group, which is believed to have been founded around April 2024.
In February, investigators in Saxony foiled a suspected planned attack by the group on an asylum shelter in the town of Senftenberg, in the state of Brandenburg near Berlin, thanks to a tip-off by a journalist.
That same month police searched a flat and another property in the Saxon city of Meissen, recovering explosives, brass knuckles, one-handed knives, ammunition, alarm guns and airsoft guns, according to prosecutors in Dresden. A 21-year-old German man, who was detained that day, is suspected of having procured the weapons for an attack on the asylum facility in Senftenberg.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the explosives were industrially manufactured pyrotechnics.
German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said it was "particularly shocking" that the five people detained on Wednesday had all been minors at the time the group was founded, stressing the need for policies to counteract the radicalization of young people.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Operation Spider's Web: Germany estimates that Ukraine damaged 10% of Russian strategic aircraft
Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields on 1 June probably damaged about 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet, German Major General Christian Freuding has said. Source: Freuding in a podcast, as reported by European Pravda, citing Reuters Quote: "According to our assessment, more than a dozen aircraft were damaged, TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers as well as A-50 surveillance planes." Details: According to the general, who coordinates Berlin's military assistance to Kyiv and works closely with the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, the A-50s, which have a similar function to NATO's AWACS aircraft in providing air surveillance, were probably not in working order. "We believe that they can no longer be used for spare parts. This is a loss, as only a handful of these aircraft exist," he said. "As for the long-range bomber fleet, 10% of it has been damaged in the attack according to our assessment," Freuding added. The United States estimates that the daring Ukrainian drone attack hit up to 20 Russian warplanes, destroying about 10 of them, two US officials told Reuters. Experts say it will take Moscow years to replace the affected aircraft. Despite the losses, Freuding sees no immediate reduction in Russian strikes on Ukraine, noting that Moscow still retains 90% of its strategic bombers, which can launch ballistic and cruise missiles in addition to dropping bombs. "But there is, of course, an indirect effect as the remaining planes will need to fly more sorties, meaning they will be worn out faster, and, most importantly, there is a huge psychological impact," he said. Freuding said that Russia felt secure in its vast territory, which also explains why the aircraft were not well protected. "After this successful operation, this no longer holds true. Russia will need to ramp up the security measures," the general said. Background: On 1 June 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) carried out a special operation codenamed Pavutyna ("Spider's Web"), hitting Russian strategic jets at four airfields. SSU head Vasyl Maliuk stated that 34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia's main airfields had been destroyed. The SSU said the estimated cost of the equipment destroyed as a result of Operation Spider's Web is over US$7 billion. A senior NATO official called the operation the most successful one yet. The Alliance estimated that at least 40 aircraft were damaged. Between 10 and 13 aircraft were completely destroyed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasised that the security services used exclusively Ukrainian weapons in this operation and did not use equipment from allied warehouses. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Man drives into a crowd in Germany's Passau, injuring several
A man drove a car into a group of people in the southern German city of Passau on Saturday, injuring several people, police said. Five people are being treated in hospital, including the man's wife, 38, and their 5-year-old daughter, according to a police spokesman. The severity of their injuries was not immediately known. The incident occurred at 3:30 pm (1330 GMT). Passers-by alerted the police. Police detained the driver, 48, and have not ruled out that he drove into the crowd on purpose, though that is currently unclear. Police suspect the incident may be linked to his relationship, the spokesman said. "The criminal police are on site and have taken over the investigation," he added. In February, a car drove into a demonstration march in Munich. Two of the injured - a woman and her 2-year-old child - later died in hospital.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Madeleine McCann prime suspect gloats he will never be charged without a body in chilling letter
Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner has gloated he will never be charged without a body. In a chilling letter, the 48-year-old convicted paedophile said 'the dropping of the investigation will hit the world like a bomb'. He bragged that police lacked the evidence needed to support their accusations against him in the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. The letter, seen by The Sun, read: 'It is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered.' He questions whether his vehicle was clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime, whether there is DNA evidence, or a body, to which he says: 'All no, no no.' Brueckner adds: 'You don't have to be a realist like me to predict that the accusations made against me will not hold up and that the investigation will be dropped.' It comes as police officers returned to Germany following a fresh three-day search conducted between Praia da Luz—where three-year-old Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007—and a house near the resort where Brueckner once lived. He also revealed in his letters a knowledge of how the German legal system works in his favour, The Sun reported. He wrote: 'You know, of course, that in Germany you don't have to prove your innocence as a suspect, but that the public prosecutor's office has to prove that you are clearly guilty. 'Even the slightest doubt leads to an acquittal, if there is a court hearing at all.' German authorities maintain that Brueckner is the main suspect in Madeleine's disappearance and are pushing for charges before his scheduled release in September. Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping an elderly American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005, has always denied having any role in Madeleine's abduction. He has also denied committing the 2005 rape for which he was convicted in 2019 and is still serving his sentence. Brueckner is due to be released later this year and police face a race against time if they are to charge Brueckner in the McCann case. Investigators looking in to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann concluded their latest searches after three days without success. The British toddler vanished after she was left sleeping while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner in a nearby restaurant. Personnel have spent two days focusing on one particular derelict building, using a ground-penetrating radar on the cobbled ground after clearing the area of debris and vegetation using a digger and chainsaws.
