Twelve Individuals Charged with Plot to Attack Mosques, Kill Muslims In Germany

By Staff, Agencies

Twelve men in Germany were charged with hatching a well-funded plot to stage armed attacks on mosques with the intent of killing or injuring as many Muslims as possible, German prosecutors said.

“They aimed through attacks on mosques and the killing and wounding of as many Muslims as possible to create civil war-like conditions,” the prosecutors announced in a Friday statement.

They further identified the suspects as 11 gang members and one accomplice – all German nationals between the ages of 31 and 61 – adding that they had met regularly to plan the terror attack with all but one pledging to contribute thousands towards a 50,000-euro scheme to finance the purchase of weapons.

Officials also noted that cash sums in the “mid four-digit range” had been discovered in homes of the suspects.

All but one of them has been detained, and the twelfth one is still at large, said prosecutors in the southeastern city of Stuttgart.

The authorities also said another suspect had died while in custody, noting, however, he had committed suicide and that there was no evidence of foul play.

This comes as Germany has experienced a series of attacks by far-right elements recently, targeting minorities and refugees.

A suspected far-right sympathizer is currently on trial for the murder of conservative politician Walter Luebcke, who called for refugees to be offered the support and welcome they needed during the 2015 refugee crisis.

The existence of far-right sympathizers has also been unveiled among Germany’s police and military forces.

Moreover, members of the so-called National Socialist Underground in the country were convicted in 2018 for a decade-long spree of murders of ethnic Turks.

According to the report, another right-wing extremist also targeted a synagogue in Eastern Germany last year, killing two bystanders.