More information on the foiled attack in Essen

From Deutsche Welle

Dozens of police surrounded the Limbecker Platz shopping mall in Essen on Saturday after receiving what they said was a credible evidence of a terror attack the day before. Security services cited by the German tabloid newspaper “Bild” described the threat as a potential multiple suicide bombing.

On Saturday evening police announced the investigation was ongoing, and thanked people who had responded via social media or by telephone during the security operation.

The German Press Agency and “Bild” quoted security sources as saying the plot was believed to be the work of the self-styled “Islamic State” (IS) militia.

The sources said a German man who traveled to Syria to fight alongside the group was the suspected mastermind. He had reportedly been in contact with a number of people in the Essen area to organize the attack, and had also sent them bomb-making instructions via an online chat. 

Two men in the nearby town of Oberhausen were arrested in connection with the threat. One was questioned after a police search of an apartment in the town. Another was taken in for questioning from a nearby internet cafe.

Security sources told the German Press Agency that while the pair had been in contact with the German militant in Syria, they were not being treated as would-be perpetrators.