An 18-year-old Russian national with possible links to Islamic State has been arrested on suspicion of planning to bomb the Israeli embassy in Berlin, the Berliner Morgenpost reported on Friday.
The teen, who is from the Chechen region of Russia, was arrested on Thursday and placed in investigative custody on Friday in Brandenburg, local police said in a statement.
The teen was arrested at Berlin Brandenburg Airport after he had already checked in for a flight to Turkey. He reportedly planned to then fly to the Islamic State caliphate to join ISIS, receive training, and then return to Germany with weapons.
Berliner Morgenpost reported that he had contact with other ISIS supporters in Germany who shared his views and had already left the country to join the terrorist organization.
Chechen teen radicalized online
The Chechen teen became radicalized on the internet, and was not planning on carrying out his attack alone, the Bild reported.
The newspaper named the suspect Ahkmad I., a Russian national who lived in Potsdam. The area of Russia he hails from is a majority Muslim area of the country.
The Joint Counter-Terrorism Center in the capital was already aware of the case and had been discussing it, German media reported.
Foreign intelligence services gave German police the tip-off, the Bild reported.
He was brought before a judge on Friday, who issued a warrant for his arrest.
"Especially with the Bundestag election on Sunday in mind, it unfortunately seems likely that terrorist organizations and foreign dictatorships will once again try to destabilize our democracy with targeted attacks," said Benjamin Jendro of the Berlin Police Department.
State prosecutors and the Russian embassy did not immediately respond to written requests for comment from Reuters.
In October 2024, authorities foiled an attack on the embassy by an ISIS supporter from Libya.