Germany

How a Secretive Branch of ISIS Built a Global Network of Killers

Believing he was answering a holy call, Harry Sarfo left his home in the working-class city of Bremen last year and drove for four straight days to reach the territory controlled by the Islamic State in Syria. He barely had time to settle in before members of the Islamic State’s secret service, wearing masks over […]

Germany Discusses Enlisting Military Help at Home to Fight Terrorism

As hundreds of police officers hit the streets of Munich last month fearing a terrorist attack, Germany’s defense minister broke a national taboo: She ordered soldiers to prepare to step in. After police found a lone teenage shooter, not a team of terrorists, killed nine victims and himself, the 100-strong army unit didn’t leave its base. […]

Joint police and military anti-terror exercises planned in Germany

For the first time ever, the Bundeswehr is preparing joint exercises with the police to face terrorist scenarios in Germany. But despite conservative pressure, this decision will not require a constitutional amendment. Point four of the nine-point plan that Angela Merkel presented on Thursday to deal with potential terrorism suggested that Germany had crossed a […]

Weapons stolen from arms room on US military base in Stuttgart

Special agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command are investigating the theft of guns and other military equipment from a base arms room in Stuttgart, military officials said. “Several semi-automatic pistols, one small-caliber automatic rifle and a shotgun were among the items taken,” said Chris Grey, a CID spokesman. The Army did not identify […]

‘Violent Explosion’ Outside German Office For Migration — ‘Arab Men’ Fled Scene

Germany’s Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Radio) reports an explosion in Zirndorf, a small town near Munich. The so-called device appears to have been a suitcase stuffed with aerosol cans. It is reported burning remains of a suitcase was found in a garden and “several Arab-looking men” were seen fleeing from the scene. No motive is known. A police spokesman said there […]

Islamic State claims German suicide bomber was former militant fighter

The Islamic State on Wednesday claimed that suicide bomber who struck a southern German city had been an active fighter with the extremist group in the Middle East, and had drawn on his own expertise with explosives to craft the device. The militants’ Al-Nabaa newsletter published an obituary of the assailant, a Syrian asylum seeker […]

Afghan youth arrested over possible role in Munich shooting: police

German police arrested a 16-year-old Afghan youth on Sunday on suspicion of a connection to the killing of nine people by an 18-year-old gunman in Munich, authorities said. The youth was under investigation for possibly having failed to report the plans of the gunman, who later shot himself, a police statement said. “There is a […]

27 year old Syrian refugee identified as the suicide bomber in Ansbach, Germany

At approximately 10:00 pm local time, a 27-year-old Syrian refugee detonated a suicide bomb packed with explosives and metal used in “wood manufacturing” (probably wood screws or bolts) inside a restaurant in Ansbach, Germany. According to the Bavarian interior minister Joachim Hermann, the man was denied asylum a year ago and has tried to commit suicide twice since then. The suicide bomber appears […]

Fatal machete attack in Germany by Syrian refugee

An eye witness told the German newspaper, “The attacker was completely out of his mind. He ran with the machete behind a police patrol car.” He said a passing BMW managed to run him over and afterwards he “lay prostrate on the ground and didn’t move”.

Munich killer as troubled, but had no terrorist ties

He had been bullied at more than one school. He played violent video games, and developed a fascination with mass shootings. He kept a copy of the German edition of “Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters,” a study by an American academic psychologist, and he was treated for psychiatric problems. Somewhere along the way, Ali Sonboly […]

Two attacks mark new violent chapter for Germany

First, a 17-year-old in a foreign land used an ax and knife to stab Chinese tourists on a train. Then an 18-year-old local who received psychological treatment opened fire near a busy shopping mall after apparently trying to lure his young victims to their deaths through a hacked Facebook post. These two teenage loners influenced by extremist ideologies […]

Updated: Shooting at Olympia-Einkaufszentrum Mall in Munich, Germany

Update 9:30PM EST: Police give a final update on the Munich shooting… 10 dead (including the shooter) and 16 wounded. The shooter is believed to have committed suicide. The sad result of #munich #gunfire 10 fatal casualties, among them the shooter 16 injured For more see(german text):https://t.co/ZooBf7NG6J — Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) July 23, 2016 Update […]