Danke, Merkel!

An update on this story: “Syrian terror suspect worked in German elementary school,” translated from “Syrischer Terrorverdächtiger arbeitete in deutscher Grundschule,” Wochenblick, November 19, 2019 (thanks to Searchlight Germany):

On Tuesday, a special unit arrested the terror suspect Abdullah H. in Berlin-Schöneberg. The man had informed himself on the Internet about the construction of bombs. He is said to have already procured preliminary materials for this. From his chat messages, it appears that he wanted to murder as many people as possible. Bombshell: The refugee from Syria worked in a primary school.

It is still unclear where the 26-year-old man wanted to attack. Whether the man had been known to the police before was not revealed. He came to Germany in 2014, was recognized as a refugee and was married. It is certain that he wanted to commit terrorist attacks in Germany. In addition, he exchanged chat messages with other Islamists. All the participants had a close connection to the terrorist organization Islamic State.

Monitored for months

Special investigators had him under surveillance for three months. The triggering information about the danger of Abdullah H. came from a friendly secret service abroad. When the opportunity was good, the GSG9 stormed the suspect’s home. From the seized documents and computers, further information should be obtained. The refugee had already procured components and chemicals for bomb construction beginning in January 2019.

Investigators speak of great danger

According to the findings of the German publication Focus, the Islamists in their online chats talked about plastic explosives, parcel and magnetic bombs, door latches with explosives, assault rifles and submachine guns. Police report that Abdullah H. posed a significant threat. For weeks it was hoped that the arrest could take place in time to head off an attack. To make matters worse, the man was employed in a primary school as a janitor.