A Syrian man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of seeking 180,000 euros ($190,000) from the Islamic State group (ISIS) to buy vehicles that he intended to use for one or several bomb attacks, authorities said Monday.
(FOX)- The 38-year-old, who came to Germany in late 2014 as an asylum-seeker, was arrested on Saturday in Saarbruecken, close to the French border. He is accused of collecting money to be used by him or someone else to carry out murder.
Prosecutors accuse him of contacting someone in Syria “who he knew was in a position to obtain ISIS money for terror financing” last month via the Telegram encrypted communication service.
The suspect allegedly asked for 180,000 euros so that he could buy and repaint vehicles that he intended to fit out with explosives before driving them into crowds.
The case against him was bolstered by an informant who went to Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office, chats on the suspect’s smartphone and his own statements, “insofar as they can be followed,” prosecutors said in a statement.
The Syrian is alleged to have told the financier that each vehicle would cost 22,500 euros ($23,500), and that 400 to 500 kilograms (882 to 1,100 pounds) of explosives would be placed in each car, they added.