3 Algerians held in Germany over ‘Berlin ISIS plot’

The German police Thursday arrested three Algerians suspected of links to the Islamic State group after raids targeting several sites, including refugee shelters where some of the suspects lived.

In all, four Algerians “from the jihadist scene are under investigation over suspicions that they are planning a serious act threatening the security of the state”, the Berlin police said. The group was suspected of planning a possible strike against the German capital, a spokesman for Berlin prosecutors said.

The alleged involvement of Algerians in an ISIS plot and the link to refugee shelters is expected to add fuel to a raging debate over the 1.1 million asylum seekers that Germany took in last year. One of the two men captured is wanted by Algerian authorities for his alleged links to ISIS, the police said, adding that “investigations show that he has been trained militarily in Syria.” The suspect and his wife, who was also detained and sought by Algiers over alleged connections with ISIS, lived in a refugee shelter in Attendorn, about 80 km from Cologne.

The second Algerian man was arrested on suspicion of falsifying identity documents. The police officers tracked down two other suspects but did not arrest them. National news agency DPA said one of the Algerians had contact with Belgium’s Islamist movement and had travelled at least once in recent weeks to Molenbeek, the troubled Brussels neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, Austria’s foreign minister called on the EU on Thursday to stop giving aid to countries that refuse to take back nationals whose asylum claims were rejected.

“We in Europe need to finally start stepping up pressure if we want the repatriation system to work properly,” Sebastian Kurz told national broadcaster Oe1. “At the moment, the EU gives 480 million euros to Morocco and 414 million to Tunisia every year, and yet these countries refuse to take back asylum seekers,” Mr Kurz said.