German police have arrested a suspected ISIS ‘sleeper agent’ (Picture: Shutterstock)
A man accused of being an ISIS ‘sleeper agent’ has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of plotting a terror attack at the Euros.
The Iraqi man, named by authorities as Mahmoud A, was detained yesterday in the town of Esslingen on the outskirts of Stuttgart just hours after the government warned of the threat of Islamic extremist attacks during Euro 2024.
Investigators say the man arrived in Germany in October 2022 but is believed to have been affiliated with ISIS since 2016.
It is currently unclear how the suspect managed to gain entry to Germany given his history.
A massive security operation is in place across Germany througout the Euros (Picture: PA Wire)
Yesterday’s arrest took place hours before the host nation played Hungary in their second Euro 2024 match in Stuttgart.
On Monday, head of German intelligence agency BfV Thomas Haldenwang warned Germany had become a prime target for extremist groups throughout the tournament- but said the threat from ‘radicalised lone wolves with no clear ties to terrorist organisations’ also posed a significant concern.
It comes as German officals have dealt with a strong of ‘lone wolf’ attacks over the past week which has seen a number of incidents erupt at fanzones across the country.
On Friday, German police shot dead an Afghan man who killed one person and wounded three others at a viewing party for the tournament’s opening match in Wolmirstedt, a town close to Berlin.
Anti-terror police were also forced to shoot an axe-wielding man over the weekend who attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail at a fanzone in Hamburg.
Another suspected ISIS agent who applied to work as match-day security was also arrested by border guards at Cologne-Bonn airport last week after he was accused of transferring money to ISIS-K in 2023.
Police across Germany have had leave cancelled in a desperate bid to avert disaster, with some 22,000 officers deployed to reinforce border, railway and airport security for the duration of the four-week tournament.
Berlin has even been forced to draft in security personel from overseas to deal with the operation, which will see around 2.7 million supporters attend games stadiums across Germany between now and mid-July.
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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Source:: Metro
