A SUSPECTED ISIS terrorist has been arrested near a German city playing host to the 2024 Euros.
Cops detained the “sleeper agent” who was suspected of planning an attack on the championship games.
GettyGerman cops have arrested a suspected ISIS terrorist[/caption]
German intelligence have been gearing up to defend against a possible terror attack at the Euros
German cops take part in an operational drill to prepare for the Euros at a football stadium in May
Named only as Mahmoud A, the suspect is thought to have been affiliated with terrorist death cult ISIS since 2016.
It comes after Thomas Haldenwang, head of Germany’s intelligence agency, warned there was a “high chance” of a terror attack at the tournament.
Mahmoud, from Iraq, arrived in Germany in October 2022.
Cops pounced on him in Esslingen, a town on the outskirts of Stuttgart where Euros matches are set to kick off in the city’s stadium.
Germany itself played Hungary there on Wednesday, just hours after the suspected terrorist was arrested.
Intelligence boss Haldenwang said this week that the principle threats to the 2024 games could come from Islamic extremists.
He pinpointed ISIS splinter cell ISIS-K as the main “focus of attention” for any potential concerns.
As this year’s championship kicked off, The Sun told how Berlin was set to secure stadiums across the country with tens of thousands of armed cops.
Security expert Will Geddes, who has worked with Premier League clubs, told The Sun that the UEFA Euro 2024 championship presents a “wide spectrum of potential risks and issues” amid a “very high level of risk” from ISIS.
Will, who leads a team of security experts at International Corporation Protection (ICP), closely monitors ISIS chatter.
Working with analysts who have experience in military, intelligence and law enforcement, his team have seen ISIS make “very specific references to Germany“.
Crowds will be monitored closely under widespread CCTV, AI, the watchful eye of “super spotters” and plain-clothed officers, he said.
Police around the country were even told they couldn’t take leave during the summer of football.
The monumental move is the biggest mobilisation in the organisation’s history.
