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Refugee Arrested For Planning Attacks On German Soccer Games

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Jacob Bojesson Foreign Correspondent
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A refugee first rumored to be a high-ranking Islamic State member has been arrested in Germany for planning attacks against soccer matches.

Germany is on high alert after multiple terrorist attacks claimed by ISIS. The state of North Rhine Westphalia arrested a 24-year-old Syrian last Friday after a prison inmate tipped police off about a possible attack.

The man was first reported to be a high-ranking ISIS member, but a spokesman for the North-Rhine Westphalia interior ministry later told Reuters such claims are false.

“There are indications that something was being planned for the start of the Bundesliga [Germany’s pro soccer league] season,” the state’s interior ministry said Tuesday.

German public broadcaster SWR claims the man was born in Syria and arrived in Germany in early 2016. (RELATED: ISIS Suicide Bomber Was Ordered For Deportation Twice)

Several politicians want stricter immigration laws in response to four attacks in late July, with nationalist party Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) calling for a complete ban for Muslims. (RELATED: German Politicians Want Trump-Style Ban On Muslims Following Terror Wave)

“We can no longer afford, for safety reasons, to let uncontrolled Muslim immigration into Germany,” Alexander Gauland, AfD’s vice leader, told Die Welt in July. “The right of asylum for Muslims should be suspended immediately until all applicants residing in Germany are registered, monitored and their applications are processed.”

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