German intelligence services have arrested a presumed Turkish spy in Hamburg. His mission: seemingly to assassinate prominent Kurds in Bremen and Brussels. This appears to be case from evidence given by the suspect’s close circle, the German national daily newspaper Bild states.

The German Public Prosecutor General confirmed that the man was arrested for spying, but made no comment as regards the actual assassination plans. This is reported in Der Spiegel and Die Welt.

Bild is reporting that the “death squad” from Turkey travelled to Germany at the end of November to carry out several murders. The identity of the targets remains unknown, as does knowledge of whether they have been contacted.

Die Welt and Der Spiegel are indicating on their Internet sites that a press communiqué by the Public Prosecutor General was given on Thursday. It mentioned that a man was arrested, having been “suspected of intelligence-gathering relating to German Kurds and Germany’s Kurdish institutions on the instructions of the Turkish secret services.”

Bild is also saying that the suspect himself has Kurdish origins. He may have appeared in Bremen at the end of November, before being arrested in Hamburg.

Lars Andersen

The Brussels Times