Ayhan Şimşek
13 September 2016•Update: 14 September 2016
BERLIN
German police have arrested three Syrian men Tuesday for suspected links to Daesh and Paris attackers, the interior minister has said.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said three suspects arrested Tuesday in northern Germany were believed to have been trained by Daesh, and deliberately sent among refugees flowing into Europe last year.
“The investigation of the Federal Police Office indicates that these suspects are linked to the perpetrators of the November 2015 Paris attacks,” he said.
Three suspects, 17-year-old Mahir Al-H, 26-year-old Mohamed A. and the 18-year-old Ibrahim M. were arrested in a major operation of police special forces at several homes of refugees in the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony.
De Maiziere said those arrested have had links to the Paris attackers and were also suspected to have established a “sleeper cell” in Germany.
“Everything points to the fact that the organization that smuggled Paris attackers, has also smuggled these three suspects to Germany,” he said.
“And secondly, everything points to the fact that their travel documents were prepared at the same location,” he added.
Paris attackers killed 130 people and wounded 368 others, in coordinated armed attack in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.
De Maiziere said German authorities have been observing the three Syrian suspects for months, trying to gather solid evidence before arresting them.
Despite strong indications that the suspects were following Daesh's orders, the initial investigation has not uncovered yet any concrete plan for an attack in Germany, the minister also said.
