Germany Arrests 4 IS Suspects Planning Attack on US Bases

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say police have arrested four suspected members of the Islamic State group alleged to be planning an attack on American military facilities.

Federal prosecutors said the suspects, all citizens of Tajikistan, were arrested early Wednesday at various locations in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

German weekly Der Spiegel reports that the men’s alleged leader has been in jail since last year on firearms charges.

Prosecutors said the men swore allegiance to IS in early 2019 and had contact to high-ranking figures in the group.

They reportedly first planned to carry out an attack in Tajikistan but later shifted their target to Germany, including U.S. military facilities in the country and persons deemed critical of Islam.