Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

German prosecutors charge 2 men accused of planning an attack in Sweden over Quran burnings

A police officer on a Segway patrols Sweden's parliament in Stockholm, Thursday Aug. 17, 2023. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via AP, File) A police officer on a Segway patrols Sweden's parliament in Stockholm, Thursday Aug. 17, 2023. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via AP, File)
Share
BERLIN, Germany -

Two men accused of planning an attack in Sweden for an affiliate of the Islamic State group in response to the burning of copies of the Quran have been charged in Germany, where they were arrested earlier this year, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The two Afghan citizens, identified only as Ibrahim M.G. and Ramin N. in line with German privacy rules, were charged with conspiring to commit a crime and violating export laws. Ibrahim M.G. was charged with membership in a terrorist organization and Ramin N. with supporting one.

The men were arrested on March 19 near Gera in eastern Germany. Federal prosecutors said they filed the indictment on Aug. 12 to the state court in Jena, which will decide whether and when the case goes to trial.

Ibrahim M.G. is accused of joining an IS affiliate that has carried out attacks in Afghanistan and elsewhere, known variously as ISIS-K, IS-K or ISPK, in August 2023. Prosecutors said that prior to that, the two suspects collected about 2,000 euros (US$2,220) in Germany in donations for IS.

Ibrahim M.G. allegedly was tasked by the IS affiliate in summer last year with carrying out an attack in Europe as a reaction to Quran burnings in Sweden and elsewhere. The two suspects planned to kill police officers and other people near the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm using firearms and made “concrete preparations†in close consultation with members of the group, prosecutors said in a statement.

The two men conducted online research on the location and tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to procure weapons, prosecutors said.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.

A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.

opinion

opinion How to make the most out of your TFSA

The Tax-Free Savings Account can be a powerful savings tool and investment vehicle. Financial contributor Christopher Liew explains how they work and how to take full advantage of them so you can reach your financial goals faster.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.