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Germany arrests suspected ISIS militant amid probe of soccer attack threat
Published August 09, 2016
A 24-year-old Syrian refugee has been detained by Germany police amid fears he was planning an attack later this month, officials and local media said Tuesday.
A spokesman for the interior ministry in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia denied reports in the German media that the man was a suspected high-ranking member of ISIS.
According to Reuters, public broadcaster SWR reported that the man arrived in Germany earlier this year. State prosecutors reportedly had been observing the man as part of an investigation.
The German news agency dpa reported Tuesday that the unidentified man was detained after a tip from a prison inmate in the western city of Gelsenkirchen.
SWR, dpa, and the tabloid newspaper Bild reported that authorities were investigating a possible terror attack that would coincide with the opening day of the Bundesliga, Germany's top soccer league. The first match of the season kicks off in Munich Aug. 26.
"There are indications that something was being planned for the start of the Bundesliga season," an official for the interior ministry based in Mainz, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate was quoted as saying.
"Investigations conducted thus far have found no evidence of a concrete threat," the North Rhine-Westphalia interior ministry said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/germany-arrests-suspected-isis-militant-amid-probe-of-soccer-attack-threat