German authorities have arrested three teenagers aged 15 and 16 on suspicion of plotting a deadly Islamist terrorist attack in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, prosecutors said on Friday.
The state's Central Office for the Prosecution of Terrorism (ZenTer NRW) sought an arrest warrant for the teenagers over the Easter holiday.
The detained suspects are a 15-year-old girl from Dusseldorf, a 16-year-old girl from the Märkischer Kreis district and a 15-year-old boy from the Soest district, located about 100 kilometres to the east of Dusseldorf.
According to investigators, the teenagers are accused of having agreed to commit murder and manslaughter in conjunction with the preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state. The presumption of innocence applies in all stages of the proceedings.
Security sources told dpa that the young people had formed a chat group, but had not drawn up a concrete attack plan for a particular time and place. The sources said that authorities had also conducted searches as part of the investigation.
Investigators had "definitely seen a danger" in their preparations despite the lack of a specific attack plan, according to a source.
