German Counterterrorism Unit Arrests Far-Right Terrorists

German Counterterrorism Unit Arrests Far-Right Terrorists

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Germany’s elite GSG 9 counterterrorism unit has arrested five people in the town of Freital on suspicion of attacking refugee shelters, according to reports by Spiegel Online. Four men and one woman aged 18-39 were arrested and detained on suspicion of forming a far-right terrorist group, causing grievous bodily harm and attempted murder.

The town, which is near the Saxony state capital of Dresden, hit the headlines last summer during weeks of xenophobic protests in front of a refugee home in a former hotel.

The arrests come in the wake of a number of attacks on shelters for refugees. Among other things, the group is suspected of attacking asylum-seeker homes in Freital with stones and fireworks, and of carrying out an explosives attack on the car of a left-wing politician, Michael Richter.

The counterterrorism officers found a large number of fireworks from Eastern Europe during their raids. Since November, police have found explosives and Nazi memorabilia during raids on several apartments in Freital and in Dresden.

Attacks on migrant shelters, anti-refugee protests and violence have been increasing in the country as Germany is struggling to cope with the influx of refugees which has been entering its border.

According to DW, already in the first half of 2015, the rate of violence against refugee housing has surpassed the whole of 2014, with 202 attacks up from the previous year’s 198. Last year’s numbers were themselves a threefold increase from the amount of incidents in 2013.