Three Syrian men arrested on suspicion of ‘IS mission’, German police confirm

In a statement, Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor's office, said that the men - aged 17, 18 and 26 - were detained after a series of pre-dawn raids in the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony on Tuesday Investigations so far have suggested the men had arrived in Germany in November 2015 with the intention of ‘carrying out a previously determined order [from IS] or to await further instructions’. It has also been revealed that the suspects travelled through Turkey and Greece using false passports. Investigators also believe the men had volunteered for the alleged mission, and that the 17-year-old had been trained in handling weapons and explosives. The arrests were made after 200 police and security officers raided numerous properties, including three refugee shelters. The news comes as Germany is already on a terror alert following a series of attacks in July, including: 18 July, a teenage Afghan refugee hacked at passengers on a train in Wuerzburg with an axe and knife, wounding five; 22 July, a German teenager of Iranian heritage shot dead nine people in Munich before shooting himself dead; 24 July, a 21-year-old Syrian refugee killed a woman with a machete and wounded five other people as he fled before being arrested; and on the same day, a 27-year-old Syrian who had been refused asylum, blew himself up outside a bar in Ansbach, injuring 15 people.