A church in Bremen was marked as the first target of an alleged plan to carry out jihadist attacks in Germany. The project was not executed and German authorities have arrested a 24-year-old Iraqi citizen, identified as Gailan Al-M.
The German Federal Prosecutor's Office states that the suspect shares the radical Islamist ideology of Islamic State (IS) and had been preparing since the spring of 2025 attacks on German territory against people he considered "infidels".
The plan had advanced beyond a statement of intentions. According to investigators, the detainee had obtained a firearm and had previously recognized a church in Bremen that he intended to make the first target.
Which church in Bremen he intended to attack
For now, German authorities have not publicly revealed which specific church in Bremen the suspect had inspected.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office only points out that it was a temple located in this city in northwestern Germany and that Gailan Al-M. had selected it as the first target of the group he allegedly intended to create.
It has also not been made public so far when he planned to execute the attack, how he intended to carry it out exactly, or why he had chosen that particular temple.
He had obtained a firearm
One of the elements that has raised the severity of the accusations is that the suspect had already obtained a firearm.
Investigators also believe that he had conducted prior reconnaissance on the church in Bremen.
The Prosecutor's Office attributes to him the preparation of a serious act of violence against state security, in addition to offenses related to firearms.
Attempted to create a cell
The plan was not conceived solely as an individual action. The investigation holds that Gailan Al-M. tried to recruit other people to create a terrorist organization.
He allegedly managed to incorporate a second person whose identity has not yet been determined by investigators.
Subsequent attempts to recruit more members, however, were unsuccessful.
Arrested in Brandenburg
The suspect was arrested this Thursday in the Barnim district, in the federal state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany.
The operation involved agents from the Federal Criminal Police and the Federal Police.
After the arrest, Gailan Al-M. was placed at the disposal of an investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, who ordered his entry into preventive detention.
The investigation remains open and one of the main questions now is to locate and identify the second alleged member who, according to the Prosecutor's Office, had agreed to participate in their plans.