A 23-year-old Syrian man was charged for planning to stab Jews and other non-Muslims in Berlin and carry out a suicide bombing, the Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Tuesday.
The suspect is accused of a terrorist offense, terrorism financing, and four counts of disseminating terrorist propaganda material.
The alleged terrorist reportedly sought to conduct a terrorist attack in accordance with Islamic State doctrine, resolving last March to primarily target Jews but also to harm all those he considered “infidels.”
The suspect learned how to make explosive and incendiary devices, and reportedly planned the attack with an unidentified contact.
The then-22-year-old allegedly acquired a knife and other items online. which the prosecutors presumed would be used to construct devices for the planned attack. The suspect had begun to experiment with the items when he was stopped.
Suspect planned to kill as many 'infidels' as possible before detonating suicide bomb
According to the prosecutors, the suspect planned to kill as many Jewish and non-Muslim people as possible with his knife, then detonate himself with a suicide bomb.
He was arrested in Neukölln in November in an operation by police and special forces.
In connection to the alleged terrorist’s plot, he had researched martyrdom and jihad on Telegram and TikTok, last March and October, sharing IS Nasheed battle anthems.
“In the jihadist context, these serve as battle songs used for emotional and political mobilization and are frequently released by the official media outlet of the so-called Islamic State or other foreign terrorist organizations,” prosecutors said in their statement.
The suspect entered Germany in December 2023 and was granted asylum in September 2024. Following his arrest, the asylum was revoked in January this year.