Suspected German Daesh member arrested over terror attack plots

A 21-year-old German citizen was arrested upon arrival at Frankfurt Airport on suspicion of attempting to join Daesh and preparing a serious act of violence, prosecutors said Monday.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office identified the suspect as Joshua W. Police detained him Friday evening as he entered Germany from abroad, acting on an arrest warrant issued by the Federal Court of Justice.

Authorities said he is strongly suspected of attempting to join the Daesh terrorist organization abroad and preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state.

According to prosecutors, he flew from Berlin to Ethiopia in January 2025 with the intention of crossing into Somalia, where he planned to join the group and receive military training to carry out attacks against people he regarded as unbelievers.

When his attempt to cross the border into Somalia failed, he changed his plans and traveled to Pakistan to join the group there. He was arrested in Pakistan in February 2025.

On Saturday, an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice executed the arrest warrant against him and ordered that he be held in pretrial detention.