German authorities have apprehended two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, under suspicion of plotting a militant Islamist attack on either a Christmas market or a synagogue.

The younger individual, a German-Afghan residing in Burscheid, was taken into custody following a search of his residence.

Although the gravity of the purported scheme was not immediately evident, law enforcement acted preemptively due to the specificity provided by the younger boy regarding the time and location.

Local interior minister Herbert Reul emphasized the tangible nature of the threat, stating, "It seemed very concrete." The security intervention was prompted by a tip from abroad, indicating potential plans for an attack involving an individual from North Rhine-Westphalia.

The 16-year-old, identified as a Russian national, was arrested in Wittstock/Dosse, located in the northeastern state of Brandenburg outside Berlin. He is suspected of preparing for the alleged plot. The investigation will now be transferred to public prosecutors in the respective states.

According to Mr. Reul, the two teenagers had selected a specific Christmas market as their target, and public broadcaster WDR reported that they had settled on December 1 as the intended date for the attack.

What is unclear is where the alleged plot was supposed to unfold. Initial reports referred to Cologne, to the southwest of Burscheid, but German sources later suggested it was the nearby city of Leverkusen.

The pair are said to have exchanged information over the Telegram messaging app about using homemade incendiary devices or a van to carry out their plans.

The alleged plot on a Christmas market brought back memories of the December 2016 attack in Berlin, when a jihadist hijacked a lorry and drove it into a crowd on Breitscheidplatz, causing the deaths of 13 people.

The arrests emerged as German domestic intelligence chief Thomas Haldenwang warned that the risk of Islamist militant attacks was "real and higher than it has been for a long time" because of the Israel-Hamas war.

Mr Haldenwang, who is head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), cited a variety of groups spreading hatred, incitement, and antisemitism, adding that he had repeatedly stressed that an attack could happen in Germany any day.

Last month, the BfV said it was working to outlaw support for Hamas and a pro-Palestinian network called Samidoun. However, Mr. Haldenwang said it was jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State that were exploiting the situation to convey a victim narrative to Muslims in the West.

He warned that the potential for attacks on Jewish and Israeli people and institutions, and the West as a whole, had significantly increased.

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