12-year-old attempted to bomb Christmas market in south Germany: prosecutors

From the German edition of The Local

A young boy tried to set off a nail bomb at a Christmas market in Ludwigshafen, but the device failed to detonate, prosecutors have confirmed.

The boy, a German citizen of Iraqi heritage, attempted to blow up the device at the Ludwigshafen Christmas market on November 26th. When the device failed to detonate he gave up, before trying again on December 5th, prosecutors said on Friday.

This time he took the explosive device, hidden in a rucksack filled with nails, and placed it in a bush near the town hall. Fortunately a pedestrian spotted the bag and alerted police, who then had specialists carry out a controlled explosion, Focus magazine reported on Thursday, citing security sources.

Public broadcaster Suedwestrundfunk, also citing unnamed security sources, said the boy was thought to have received instructions from the Isis via the encrypted instant messaging service Telegram.

According to an earlier report by police investigators, the powder in the homemade bomb had been created out of the ingredients of fireworks and sparklers and was flammable but not explosive. . . Local prosecutor Hubert Ströber told AFP that to call the device a bomb would be an exaggeration

The 12-year-old, born in the town in Rhineland-Palatinate in 2004, had been radicalized and was encouraged to carry out the attack by an as-yet unknown member of the Isis terror group. . . Federal prosecutors are however investigating the possibility that a terror network supported the attempted attack.

The child, who cannot face a German court because he is aged under 14, was detained and placed into a juvenile care facility…City mayor Eva Lohse said he “is currently staying at a secure place and therefore presents no public threat”.