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No suspicion of terrorism: 14-year-old from Cologne remains at large!
A 14-year-old in Cologne is suspected of terrorism because of IS propaganda and possible plans to attack a Christmas market.
No suspicion of terrorism: 14-year-old from Cologne remains at large!
In Cologne, a 14-year-old teenager is causing a stir after initially coming under suspicion of terrorism. According to the Cologne public prosecutor's office However, it quickly became clear that no specific terrorist attack was planned. The boy was said to have sympathized with the Islamic State (IS) and was accused of spreading propaganda for the group. An investigation has been initiated against the German national, but there is no evidence of planned attacks.
The news that the youth shared IS propaganda in the form of videos and symbols had been spread in the media in recent days. On his TikTok profile, investigators found two videos and a post in which a still image with the oath of loyalty to the IS caliph is presented, reports Time. This discovery led to his home being searched without the youth being taken into custody.
A sad trend
It is alarming that more and more young people in Germany are being caught up in extremist propaganda. These developments come in the context of an increasing threat from Sunni jihadism and the Islamic State, which has been documented in Germany since October 2023. According to that Institute for Strategic Dialogues There have been at least ten incidents linked to IS in recent times. What is particularly striking is that these extremist groups specifically target young people via platforms such as TikTok and Telegram.
Security authorities have observed similar cases in the past. It was only in April 2024 that four young people were arrested who were radicalized by IS videos and wanted to plan attacks on churches and synagogues. These worrying trends show how fragile the security situation in Germany is in terms of extremism.
conclusion
The case of the 14-year-old from Cologne is a clear warning that parents and society must be vigilant when it comes to the influence of extremist content on social media. While no attacks were planned in this particular case, pressure remains high on security authorities to closely monitor developments and step up preventive measures. Extremism comes in many facets; It is up to us to offer young people a perspective that distracts them from such dangerous ideologies.