20‑year-old Iraqi arrested for alleged plot to attack Hanover Christmas market

A 20-year-old Iraqi, suspected of planning a terrorist attack, was arrested by law enforcement authorities in Lower Saxony. The target was allegedly the Hanover Christmas market, with two other individuals also suspected of plotting to create an explosion at the market.

Daniela Behrens, Lower Saxony's Interior Minister, revealed on a NDR program on Thursday that a 20-year-old Iraqi residing in Saxony-Anhalt was apprehended in Helmstedt on November 21. The suspect is believed to have been planning a terrorist attack on the Hanover Christmas market.

Behrens also hinted that more arrests might be forthcoming, indicating that there are radical Islamists residing in Germany who may be planning further attacks, with announcements likely to occur in the digital realm.

It was recently reported that two other individuals, supporters of the Islamic State, were arrested in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg. The suspects, a 15-year-old Afghan and a 16-year-old Russian, are believed to have conspired to launch an attack on the Leverkusen Christmas market. The details of their plan, which involved a small truck explosion intended to kill visitors on December 1, were reportedly discussed via the Telegram app, according to Düsseldorf's prosecutor's office.

Federal Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, raised her concerns about the heightened risk of terrorist attacks in Germany in the wake of the recent Hamas attack on Israel. She declared in a conversation with RND that the threat level posed by ISIS supporters is "high", and emphasized the direct implication of war in Germany's current situation.