German federal prosecutors have launched a major operation against a suspected far-right extremist cell accused of plotting violent attacks, authorities said on Wednesday.
In coordinated early morning raids, police arrested five male suspects aged 14 to 18 across the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, and Hesse, according to the Federal Prosecutor General’s Office.
The group, which called itself the Last Wave of Defence, allegedly planned attacks targeting refugees and political opponents.
Prosecutors said the suspects saw themselves as “the last resort for the defence of the German nation.”
“Their goal was to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in the Federal Republic of Germany through acts of violence, primarily against migrants and political opponents,” the office stated.
Four of the suspects are accused of being members of a terrorist organisation, while one is suspected of supporting it. Charges include attempted murder, arson, and property damage.
Authorities searched 13 properties in Saxony and Thuringia in connection with the group. The operation is linked to three other German nationals already in custody.
Prosecutors believe the group was established around April 2024, with three of the suspects seen as ringleaders.
In February, a planned attack on an asylum shelter in Senftenberg, Brandenburg, was foiled following a journalist’s tip-off.
That same month, police searched a flat and another property in Meissen, Saxony, seizing explosives, brass knuckles, knives, ammunition, alarm pistols, and airsoft guns, according to prosecutors in Dresden.
A 21-year-old man detained during that operation was accused of procuring the weapons. The recovered explosives were industrially manufactured pyrotechnics.
German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig described the arrests as “particularly shocking,” highlighting that all five suspects were minors when the group formed.
She stressed the urgent need for stronger policies to prevent the radicalisation of young people.
(NAN)