Dhe security authorities have had Etrit P. firmly in their sights for some time. Most recently, the worrying information about the 16-year-old youth from Iserlohn became so condensed that he was arrested on Thursday. Etrit P., who has both German and Kosovan citizenship, is said to have planned a “serious crime that endangers the state” on behalf of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS), according to the federal prosecutor. According to this, P., who is said to have become radicalized within a few months, was in contact with a suspected IS man via messenger service and had already been told how to build an explosive device. According to the investigators, however, P. then feared that his plans could be thwarted and resorted to stabbing police officers.
The P. case shows that the IS is still active after its military defeat in Syria and Iraq and is striving to have attacks carried out in Germany using the so-called mentor method. Since 2016, the security authorities have repeatedly dealt with a previously unknown type of jihadist perpetrator. These are often both unstable and turbo-radicalized young men and adolescents who are only superficially “lone wolves”. In fact, these perpetrators are sometimes instructed by their “coach” until shortly before their attacks – such as Riaz A., who seriously injured several passengers with an ax in a regional train in Franconia in the summer of 2016.
Fortunately, in several cases since then, it has been possible to track down young people who have already decided to attack in good time. In the case of Mohammad J. in Cologne – who was in contact with an IS instructor via Whatsapp – this was thanks to attentive staff at a refugee accommodation six years ago and above all to members of a mosque community. In the case of Oday J. from Hagen a year ago, the security authorities received the crucial information from a friendly foreign intelligence service. J. wanted to detonate an explosive device in front of the local synagogue. He too had been instructed by a suspected IS member via chat.
