A number of alleged terrorist conspirators from the group Islamic State Khorasan Province, a.k.a. ISIS-K, have been arrested in Germany and the Netherlands. The raids and arrests were coordinated between the Dutch and German security services and carried out simultaneously.

Below are two articles about the arrests, both translated by Gary Fouse. The first article is from Deutsche Welle and concerns the arrests in Germany:

Terrorism Germany

Terror cell in North Rhine-Westphalia discovered and seven men arrested.

July 6, 2023

According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the accused wanted “to carry out high-profile attacks” in Germany in the name of the Islamic State terror organization. Several possible sites were reportedly already scouted.

The seven men are accused of establishing a terror association in Germany and planning attacks as the highest German prosecuting authority reports. In addition, they reportedly supported the Islamic State terror organization. Another man and his wife were arrested by Dutch authorities, according to reports.

Among the men arrested in Germany are accused persons from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. They have a radical Islamic orientation. Shortly after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, they reportedly traveled to Germany and joined a terrorist association. The goal was reportedly “to carry out high-profile attacks in the name of the Islamic State,” the report further states. One of the men arrested in the Netherlands also reportedly belonged to the association.

Sites already scouted

The group was in contact with members of regional offshoots of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK). Possible attack sites were reportedly already targeted and potential sites were scouted. The accused also reportedly attempted to get weapons. A concrete attack plan was not yet formed, however. The accused are expected to be brought before an investigating judge at the federal court in Karlsruhe over the course of Thursday-Friday.

Faeser wants to stop terrorism financing

“The measures clearly show that the fight against Islamist terrorism remains clearly in the focus of our security authorities,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Thursday. “Also in the current case, it was a matter of consistently stopping terrorist financing for the Islamic State in addition to possible attack plans,” said the SPD politician. Simultaneous arrests in the Netherlands prove that there was a close national and international network. She referred to the foiled attacks in Castrup-Reuxel and Hamburg this year as well as the Islamic State financing network uncovered at the end of May.

The second article, from De Telegraaf, concerns the arrests in the Netherlands:

IS gave order for attack

Man (29) and wife (31) arrested on suspicion of terrorism

July 6, 2023

Rotterdam — A 29-year-old man from Tajikistan and his 31-year-old wife from Kyrgyzstan were arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of terrorism, the State Prosecutor’s Office of the Public Prosecutor (OM) reports. The two are suspected of “preparatory actions for a terrorist crime.” The man is also suspected of participating with the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).

The two have been in the Netherlands since 2022. The woman was arrested in an apartment in Breda, and the man was arrested in Eindhoven. The investigators got on the trail of the suspects after an official report from the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). From this, it turned out the man is a member of IS and had received the order to plot an attack. “The plans were not yet concrete, but the Public Prosecutor found them serious enough to intervene,” the statement reads.

The investigation was conducted in cooperation with Germany because the man was in contact with people who live in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the German investigation, seven suspects were arrested on Thursday because they were allegedly preparing an attack. According to the newspaper Die Welt, there were seven men between 20 and 45 years of age from Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. They reportedly all arrived in Germany around the spring of 2022. According to German security services, they were in contact with the Afghani-Pakistani branch of ISIS.

Both suspects in the Netherlands will be brought before an examining magistrate on Friday. They are in restricted custody, which means that the suspects are only allowed contact with their lawyer.