MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A 17-year-old Syrian refugee was detained on Tuesday by the police of Germany’s Brandenburg state over a suspicion of "joining jihad" and possibly preparing a terrorist attack, according to local authorities.
"Early today, the special forces of the Police of the Brandenburg state detained a 17-year-old in district Uckermark. According to information from the state, he said goodbye in a letter to his family members and joined jihad," a statement released by the police said.
According to Interior Minister of Brandenburg Karl-Heinz Schroeter, cited by the local media, the detainee was planning to perpetrate a suicide attack in Berlin.
Spokesman for the Brandenburg Police Ingo Decker stated that the police had enough evidence to detain the teenager. He also confirmed to Sputnik that the detainee was from Syria. However, the police then stated that the nationality of the refugee was still to be confirmed.
"The Syrian nationality and specific attack plans cannot be confirmed yet. The investigation continues," the police wrote on Twitter.
Terror threat in Europe remains high amid a series of deadly attacks which occurred over the past year, with the latest incidnet taking place outside the Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom at the end of US singer Ariana Grande's concert. The explosion killed 22 people and left over 120 injured. Deadly terrorist attacks also hit London in March, Stockholm in April, and Berlin and Nice in 2016.
