Islamist Plot to Strike Bavarian Christmas Market Disrupted as Five Suspects Are Detained

German authorities say coordinated security action prevented a planned vehicle attack targeting a crowded Christmas market in Bavaria.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

German authorities said a planned Islamist terror attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria was thwarted with the arrest of five men accused of preparing a mass-casualty assault. Officials said five men have been arrested following an investigation into an alleged plot targeting a public holiday market.

The arrests were carried out Friday and involved three Moroccan nationals, an Egyptian national, and a Syrian national. Prosecutors said the group was suspected of planning an attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria, though authorities did not disclose the specific location due to the ongoing investigation.

According to prosecutors, the Egyptian suspect is accused of having “called for a vehicle attack… with the aim of killing or injuring as many people as possible.” Authorities said he is believed to be an imam at a local mosque. The three Moroccan men—aged 22, 28, and 30—are accused of agreeing to commit murder, while the Syrian suspect is accused of encouraging the crime.

Bavaria’s state interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the plot was uncovered through coordinated intelligence and police work. He credited the “excellent cooperation between our security services” with preventing what he described as “a potentially Islamist-motivated attack.”

German officials noted that Christmas markets have been a repeated focus of extremist violence concerns for nearly a decade. In 2016, an attack on a Berlin Christmas market killed 12 people after a truck was driven into a crowd. More recently, an attack on a market in Magdeburg last year left six people dead.

Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing as prosecutors continue to examine communications, planning efforts, and whether additional individuals may have been connected to the disrupted plot.