Several Muslim men were arrested in France late this week after law enforcement officials, who had been investigating the men for criminal terrorist associations, discovered that they were scouting out a Christmas market.
Five men between the ages of 20 and 23 were arrested on Friday in Meurthe-et-Mosell following the terrorism investigation by French intelligence services, who were surveilling the men, according to Le Parisien.
The suspected Islamic terrorists carried out reconnaissance on Strasbourg Christmas market, officials said. Police said that the arrests came after “worrying elements” were discovered. During a raid connected to the investigation, officials discovered a video filmed at the market where one of the suspects reportedly said, “And there, we shoot.”
Law enforcement told French media that the men belonged to the Salafist movement, a sect of Sunni Islam that numerous Islamic terrorist groups subscribe to, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, and Al-Shabaab.
Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin called on the country to “maintain extreme vigilance” during the Christmas season due to the “very high level of terrorist threat” posed by Islamic terrorists in the country as France has the largest Muslim population in all of Europe.
Last week, seven people were arrested in Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands for allegedly planning terror attacks against Jews.
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement that German law enforcement “in cooperation with Dutch authorities, (on Thursday) arrested four members of Hamas who were planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe.”
“Abdelhamid Al A., Mohamed B., Ibrahim El-R. and Nazih R. have been longstanding members of HAMAS and have participated in HAMAS operations abroad,” prosecutors said in a statement. “They are closely linked to the military branch’s leadership.”
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Three of the suspects were arrested in Germany, while another was arrested in the Netherlands. Three additional suspects were arrested in Denmark on terrorism-related charges, but it was not clear if they were connected to the other four suspects.
“On behalf of HAMAS, Abdelhamid Al A. started searching for an underground weapons cache in Europe no later than spring 2023, which the organisation had created in the past in a conspiratorial manner,” prosecutors said. “He received his orders from HAMAS leaders in Lebanon. The weapons were due to be taken to Berlin and kept in a state of readiness in view of potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe. In October 2023, Abdelhamid Al A., Mohamed B. and Nazih R. travelled repeatedly from Berlin to look for the weapons, with Ibrahim El-R. providing assistance.”
Related: Hundreds Of Hamas Terrorists Believed To Be Living In Germany