Germany arrests Syrian accused of plot to kill soldiers with machetes

German authorities said Friday they had arrested a 27-year-old Syrian man who allegedly planned an Islamist-motivated attack on army soldiers using machetes.

The suspect, an “alleged follower of a radical Islamic ideology”, was arrested on Thursday on charges of planning “a serious act of violence endangering the state”.

The man had acquired two heavy knives “around 40 centimetres (more than one foot) in length” in recent days, prosecutors in Munich said.

With the machetes, he planned to “attack Bundeswehr soldiers” in the city of Hof in northern Bavaria during their lunch break, aiming “to kill as many of them as possible”, prosecutors said.

“The accused wanted to attract attention and create a feeling of insecurity among the population,” they said.