Prosecutors: Another suspect arrested in German army extremism probe
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Probe
Berlin, May 9, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Another suspect has been arrested in Germany in connection with Franco A, a Bundeswehr officer suspected of posing as a refugee in order to carry out a right-wing terrorist attack, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Maximilian T, another Bundeswehr soldier, was arrested in the south-western town of Kehl on suspicion of supporting Franco A’s plan to commit a terrorist attack against high-profile individuals who had expressed support for refugees.
Mathias F, another soldier who was arrested at the end of April, is also understood to be part of the right-wing terrorist cell, whose attack targets included former president Joachim Gauck and Justice Minister Heiko Maas.
“The case has raised questions about the extent of right-wing sentiment within the ranks of the Bundeswehr and about why Germany’s asylum procedures did not detect that Franco A was operating under an alias as a Syrian refugee.
“Franco A had intended to carry out the terrorist attack by himself by posing as a Syrian refugee.
“The three accused wanted to direct suspicions toward asylum seekers registered in Germany,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Maximilian T’s role was allegedly to excuse Franco A’s absences from the French town of Illkirch, where he was stationed during his months-long effort to pose as a refugee in the German states of Hesse and Bavaria.
The three men are suspected of having bought an illegal firearm in Austria with which to carry out the attack.
That weapon was found in an airport toilet in Vienna last month, leading authorities to the suspects. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Abdullahi Yusuf