Germany Arrests Islamist Preacher on Charges of Recruiting Militants

A German Islamist preacher was arrested in Germany on Tuesday for recruiting fighters for a militant group in Syria and purchasing and delivering military equipment, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said.

Sven Lau, 35, is suspected of recruiting Germans living in and around the western German city of Duesseldorf to fight abroad and was believed to have recruited two fighters already, the office said in a statement.

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Lau is a member of a wing of a group called the Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Muhajireen Brigade) which the prosecutor said supported IS.

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The state’s interior minister, Ralf Jaeger said Lau was considered a leading light among Germany’s Salafist groups which he said encouraged young men to join jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria.

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Sven Lau