Terror threat

Germany: 5 arrested for forming right-wing terror group

Five people were arrested in Germany on Tuesday on suspicion of founding a right-wing terror group to attack refugee homes and other facilities, in what the country's top security official called a "powerful blow" to the far-right.

The "Freital Group," named after a suburb of the eastern city of Dresden that has seen a string of anti-refugee protests and other incidents, was formed in July last year or earlier, federal prosecutors said. They said several apartments in the state of Saxony were searched alongside the arrests of the five German nationals — four men and a woman aged between 18 and 39.

"With today's operation, the security authorities have dealt a powerful blow to a regional right-wing terrorist group," Interior Minister Thomas DeMaiziere said in a statement, adding that the operation involved federal agents, federal police and Saxony state police.