January 16, 2026, 10:49January 16, 2026, 10:49
German special forces at Hanover and Stuttgart airports prevented the departure of two men from northern Hesse to Syria who are accused of preparing a serious act of violence that would endanger the state.
The two German nationals “with connections to the Islamist scene” are now in custody in Frankfurt am Main, as the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office and the Hesse State Criminal Police Office announced.
The German nationals had a connection to the Islamist scene. (symbol image)Image: dpa
Special forces prevented the 27-year-old and the 18-year-old from leaving the country on Thursday. In addition to the Hessian authorities, the federal police and investigators from North Rhine-Westphalia were also involved in the investigation.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the suspicion became more concrete that the two wanted to be trained in Syria for combat operations abroad.
During searches of the couple’s apartments in Kassel and the Kassel district, the investigators found, among other things, a crossbow without a bolt and brochures related to the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).
“There was never a specific threat to the population,” said spokesman Dominik Mies. (sda/dpa)