German terror cell planned attacks on mosques

BERLIN A far-right terror cell planned attacks on six mosques across Germany but was dismantled by the police last week following a tip from an informant, local media reported on Monday. The group’s leading figure Werner S. made concrete plans to attack politicians, refugees, and Muslims to provoke a civil-war-like situation in the country, German press agency DPA reported, based on information from investigators. Twelve members of the group were arrested after a series of raids on Friday in the federal states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, North-Rhine Westphalia, Rheinland-Palatinate, and Saxony Anhalt. Germany has witnessed growing Islamophobia in recent years, triggered by the propaganda of far-right parties. Dozens of mosques across the country have received bomb threats, sparking worries among the country’s Muslim population. Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. Among the country’s nearly 4.7 million Muslims, 3 million are of Turkish origin.