Germany charges Syrian brothers over Sweden plot

German prosecutors Wednesday charged two Syrian brothers with allegedly planning an attack inspired by the Islamic State group at a church in Sweden over Quran burning incidents in the country.

The two brothers, identified only as 29-year-old An. K., and 24-year-old Ah. K., had been arrested in April and are in pre-trial detention.

The older brother had since early 2023 been planning a "bomb attack, whose aim is to kill and injure many people", said prosecutors.

On April 14, he allegedly told an unidentified member of the pro-IS Al-Saqri Foundation for Military Sciences that he planned to "carry out an attack on a church in Sweden where many people are assembled".

"With this, An. K. wanted to react violently to the Quran burnings in Sweden," said prosecutors.

At the time of his arrest, An. K. was in possession of two kilograms of urea fertilisers and acid, and was apparently waiting for the delivery of a bleaching agent with a high carbamide peroxide content.

With the components, the older suspect was preparing to build an explosive, although the details of his attack plans remained very vague, said prosecutors.

His brother Ah. K. is accused of having vowed "to carry out the suspected attack in the name of the IS".

He also allegedly helped his older brother with procuring components for the bomb.

Sweden, like neighbouring Denmark, has in recent months seen a spate of public desecrations of the Quran, including burnings, which have sparked widespread outrage and condemnation in Muslim countries.