Germany: 5 Arrested Over Christmas Terror Plot

The arrests come as German towns and cities continue to grapple with the threat of Islamist terror attacks on Christmas markets. Indeed, multiple Christmas markets in Germany, including in Kerpen and Overath, have cancelled their markets this year as costs to provide security against potential attacks became too expensive.

Christmas markets, one of the few remaining public Christian events in many European countries, have become a top target for attacks. For example, six people were killed and over three hundred more were injured last year after a Saudi pro-asylum activist ploughed a car into merrymakers a market in Magdeburg.

Previously, a Tunisian Islamist failed asylum seeker attacked a Berlin Christmas market in 2016, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more.

Germany is not the only European country grappling with security threats to Christmas markets. Earlier this month, the French government called for regional authorities to exercise “maximum vigilance” in the face of Islamist threats and to boost security at Christmas markets to create a “visible deterrent” against potential attacks.