Germany arrests Moroccan suspected of IS ties

German authorities
have charged a 24-
year-old Moroccan of
being part of a
network that planned
Paris attacks last year.


The man was
allegedly responsible
for looking after the
group's safe houses in
Greece and Turkey.
Police arrested the
suspected member of the
"Islamic State" (IS) militia,
Redouane S., in the
northwest state of Lower
Saxony on Tuesday.
German prosecutors claim
that the Moroccan was
linked with Abdelhamid
Abaaoud, the instigator of
terror strikes that killed
some 130 people in Paris in
November 2015. The Belgian
national was gunned down
in the shootout with the
Paris police days after the
attack.
The group allegedly tasked
Redouane S. to rent
apartments in Turkey and
Greece while the Paris
attacks were planned.
Members of the terror cell
used the locations as
hideouts "for the
preparation of attacks."
No Berlin link
The officials also claim that
the Moroccan knew about
Abaaoud and other group
members meeting in the
Belgian town of Verviers to
plan more attacks. The cell
was dismantled in a deadly
raid in January 2015.
Redouane lived in Belgium
at the time.
"Even after his coming to
Germany in May 2015 he
was in contact with the
group led by Abaaoud and
showed readiness to take
more orders," the
prosecutors said in a
statement.
The news of his arrest
comes as German security
forces pursue a nationwide
manhunt for the
perpetrators of the Berlin
terror strike on Monday.
However, the officials say
that the 24-year-old is not
linked with the latest deadly
incident.
dj/rc (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP)