Two citizens of Iraqi origin have been arrested in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, accused of an alleged crime of integration into a terrorist organization, after having fought for more than a year in Iraq in the ranks of the Islamic State.
The Düsseldorf Prosecutor's Office reported this Thursday that both suspects, aged 29 and 46, remain in custody for alleged membership in a terrorist organization abroad.
According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the two men would have participated in armed confrontations in Iraqi territory alongside the jihadist group at least since mid-2015 and until the end of 2016.
The arrests took place in Hoxter and Bottrop, two localities in North Rhine-Westphalia, after the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) located the suspects and seized mobile phones and laptops in their homes.
The Prosecutor's Office has also indicated that there is no evidence that the detainees were preparing attacks in Germany, so it has ruled out that they had concrete plans to attack in the country.