BERLIN (AP) — A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in the German city of Hamburg on suspicion of planning an attack on a shopping mall, a bar or a police station, prosecutors said Monday.
The Syrian national was arrested in Hamburg on Thursday, prosecutors in Germany’s second-biggest city said in a statement. They added that the Islamic State extremist group apparently was the inspiration for his alleged plans to kill an undetermined number of “infidels” using explosives, Molotov cocktails or a knife.
The suspect allegedly had procured fertilizer, lighter fluid, a balaclava and a knife, which were seized last week. He is under investigation on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and terror financing.
Prosecutors said they previously had ordered a psychiatric assessment of the suspect in connection with a separate investigation into alleged violations of Germany’s law governing associations and other offenses. They didn’t elaborate on that case.
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