German police raid mosque in Berlin in terrorism probe
Authorities say preacher under investigation for raising funds to support a jihadist fighter in Syria
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
German authorities said police searched a Berlin mosque on Tuesday as part of an investigation into its imam on suspicion he raised money to support a jihadist fighter in Syria.
Berlin prosecutors said Tuesday that 45-year-old Ahmad A., whose last name wasn’t given in line with privacy laws, was the target of the raid on the As-Sahaba mosque in the capital’s Wedding district.
They said in two tweets that A., who preaches under the name Abul Baraa, is suspected of financing terrorism for sending money to “a jihadi fighter in Syria for the purchase of military equipment.”
The prosecutor’s spokesman Martin Steltner told The Associated Press that no arrests were made and that the raids at the mosque and other locations were aimed at obtaining evidence for his office’s ongoing investigation.
According to reports in German media, the As-Sahaba mosque to known to German authorities as a hub for Salafist extremism, and was under surveillance by the country’s domestic intelligence agency.
According to the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper, the mosque was founded by German-Egyptian extremist Reda Seyam, who is suspected of playing a role in the 2002 Bali bombings. In 2013, he left Germany for Syria to join the Islamic State, and currently serves as the group’s “education minister.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.