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UK 'truck horror link'

ISIS commanders who plotted the Berlin Christmas truck massacre ‘may have groomed suspected British terror cell’

Five arrested in Derby and London suspected of being lined up for an international wave of attacks

A SUSPECTED British terror cell may have been groomed by the ISIS commanders who plotted the Berlin Christmas truck massacre.

Sources say the five men and a woman arrested in Derby and London last week are suspected of being lined up for an international wave of attacks.

Berlin carnage shows the aftermath of the terror truck attack
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Berlin carnage shows the aftermath of the terror truck attackCredit: AP:Associated Press

Meanwhile all police requests for leave is being refused and soldiers could be drafted on to London streets for New Year’s Eve.

And German cops launched a manhunt for the Berlin killer after admitting they had quizzed the wrong man for 12 hours.

The suspect, a Pakistani asylum seeker, was seized at an airport hangar housing immigrants.

Festive decorations hang from the windshield of the 25-tonne vehicle as a grisly reminder that Berliners had been celebrating Christmas when they were killed
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The lorry ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market killing 12
Officials survey the devastating scene which also saw 50 injured
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Officials survey the devastating scene which also saw 50 injuredCredit: AP:Associated Press
Police were on high alert after the market attack
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Police were on high alert after the market attackCredit: Alamy
Authorities believe the truck was hijacked by the attacker before it was used
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Authorities believe the truck was hijacked by the attacker before it was usedCredit: EPA

He is a sex offender who entered Germany under a false name.

But a police chief confessed: “The perpetrator is armed, at large and can cause further damage.”

Premier Angela Merkel was under mounting pressure over her open-door policy which has let in almost a million migrants.

Opponents claimed she had “blood on her hands” over Monday’s horror which left 12 dead.

Last night ISIS claimed responsibility, calling the attacker a “soldier” responding to calls to “target nationals of the coalition countries.”

Police believe the British cell were on the brink of being “operational”.

A paramedic treats a casualty at the scene of the horror
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A paramedic treats a casualty at the scene of the horrorCredit: Spreepicture
Cops survey the blood-soaked crime scene in wake of the attack
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Cops survey the blood-soaked crime scene in wake of the attackCredit: Getty Images

The Sun revealed the suspects were arrested in raids in Burton-upon-Trent, Derby and London on December 12.

Last night a US security source said: “We understand efforts to make explosives were ramped up in recent weeks.

Pensive Berliners try an absorb the tragedy that has unfurled
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Pensive Berliners try an absorb the tragedy that has unfurledCredit: Reuters
Armed cops were out in force to protect Berlin from further attacks
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Armed cops were out in force to protect Berlin from further attacksCredit: Getty Images

“Together with strong additional intelligence from our European counterparts, evidence suggests a UK group was being lined up to commit a relatively small ‘exploratory attack’ in co-ordination with other European ISIS cells to test and stretch security responses.”

US officials also believe one suspect could have had contact with an ISIS chief called Abu Sulayman al-Firansi.

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The Moroccan-born former French Foreign Legion fighter, real name Abdelilah Himich, leads a brigade of at least 300 jihadis who have fanned out across Europe.

He is thought to have played a key role in the mass Paris and Brussels attacks which left a total of 162 people dead.

Five men and a woman arrested in Derby and London over suspected terror offences
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Five men and a woman arrested in Derby and London over suspected terror offencesCredit: Getty Images

The source added: “The most alarming aspect is evidence that UK suspects were being directed by an IS external operations group based in Aleppo in Syria.

“Of most concern is that at least one of the suspects is feared to have had contact with al-Faransi.”


Is Britain prepared for an attack?

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