Three Syrians have been arrested in the western German state of Saarland after half a year of investigations into their suspected links to terrorist groups, police and state prosecutors said on Friday.

Investigators say one of the detainees had tried to recruit fighters from Germany via the internet to take part in the civil war as members of the banned extremist group Ahrar al-Sham. The group belongs to the Salafist scene and wants to establish an Islamic state in Syria based on Sharia law. The others were said to have been members of the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria.

Read more: What is the Ahrar Al-Sham organization in Syria?

Two of the men are on a list of those people German police consider to be a terrorist threat.

Investigators said, however, that there was no information of any concrete plans for an attack.

Read more: Germany's domestic intelligence agency warns of IS sympathizers

Watch video 05:07 What next for Islamic State?

Looking at evidence

Officials said police secured large amounts of evidence in connection with the arrests, including mobile phones and computers.

The three men, who all live in the Saarlouis region, came to Germany in 2015 as refugees from Syria's civil war and applied for asylum.

The investigations into the men were triggered by an employee of a refugee center outside Saarland who reported having seen a video in which one of the men was seen with hand grenades and other combat weapons while dressed in a combat uniform.

tj/rt (AFP, dpa)

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> BERLIN (Reuters) - German federal prosecutors said on Wednesday two Syrian citizens were arrested in Germany for suspected crimes against humanity during their work for the intelligence service in Syria.

The prosecutors said federal police in Berlin and Rhineland-Palatinate state arrested the suspects identified as Anwar R., aged 56, and Eyad A., aged 42.

It said both suspects had left Syria in 2012. </s> Two suspected former Syrian intelligence agents have been detained in Germany at the request of the German prosecutor’s office. According to the prosecutor, the men, aged 42 and 56 years and arrested in Berlin and Rhineland-Palatinate, are suspected of “orchestrating tortures” and crimes against humanity in Syria. Another reported member of the alleged Syrian secret service was arrested in France, according to the Paris public prosecutor's office. All three arrests were made in a joint coordinated operation.

The German authorities claim that the two men who were arrested in Germany belonged to the regional investigative department of the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate in the capital area of Damascus; however, no evidence of this has been revealed to the public.

The 56-year-old suspect, known by the name of Anwar R., was allegedly “involved in tortures and physical abuse” as a senior Syrian intelligence agent between April 2011 and September 2012. He allegedly oversaw a so-called investigation department that also had its own prison. During the interrogations there, prisoners were reportedly “tortured brutally", while Anwar R., who was allegedly in charge of the facility, is suspected of ordering the systematic “torture” its inmates.

The 42-year-old, called Eyad A., is suspected of working for a unit in the department run by Anwar R. The list of charges against him includes being an accomplice in the killing of two people, as well as torturing at least 2,000 others between July 2011 and January 2012, as he worked for the country’s intelligence service.

READ MORE: German Court Sentences Syrian to Life in Jail for War Crimes

Both suspects reportedly fled Syria and claimed asylum in Germany, but German media suggest that Anwar R. was not trying hard to conceal his past. Damascus has yet to comment on the charges brought against its nationals. Syria also denies the existence of the so-called "secret police prisons”, claims about which have been made by activists and mainstream media outlets since 2011.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations, such as Daesh*. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is one of the guarantor states of the Syrian ceasefire. Moscow has also been assisting Damascus by providing humanitarian aid to residents of the war-torn country.

Daesh* previously seized large swaths of land in the Middle East, primarily from Iraq and Syria, and declared a caliphate. The terror group’s activities have also been registered in other countries, such as Afghanistan and Libya. However, Daesh terrorists have been driven from the vast majority of the settlements and territories that they once occupied, including from Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries. </s> BERLIN (Reuters) - Police have arrested two Syrian citizens in Germany on suspicion of crimes against humanity, including torturing prisoners, during their work for the intelligence service in Syria, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Germany, Norway and Sweden are the only European countries whose laws allow them to prosecute and try war crimes committed outside their territory. Germany is home to more than 600,000 Syrians.

The two suspects, identified as Anwar R., aged 56, and Eyad A., 42, were arrested by federal police in Berlin and Rhineland-Palatinate state.

A spokeswoman for the GBA Federal Prosecutor’s Office said both suspects had been part of the Syrian security service center in Damascus and had left Syria in 2012.

As a high-ranking employee in the Syrian intelligence service, Anwar R. is strongly suspected of participating in crimes against humanity by torturing opposition activists between 2011 and 2012, prosecutors said in a statement.

“As head of the so-called investigative department, Anwar R. assigned and directed the operations in the prison, including the use of systematic and brutal torture,” said the statement.

The other Syrian is suspected of helping to kill two people and torturing at least 2,000 people as an intelligence worker between July 2011 and January 2012, it said. He is suspected of working in the department Anwar A. was directing.

Anwar R. has been in Germany since mid-2014 and Eyad A. since mid-2018, the prosecutor’s spokesman told Reuters, adding that both suspects had applied for asylum in Germany.

“It was a question of time that someone is identified and will be accused and later on arrested, most probably indicted and put on trial in Germany or another European country,” Wolfgang Kaleck, the head of European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) told Reuters.

Six torture survivors, some of whom live in Germany, have given testimonies against one of the two detainees, Kaleck said.

The two were arrested after French authorities detained another Syrian in France over similar accusations, said the prosecutors.

The Syrian embassy in Berlin was not available for immediate comment.

Efforts to prosecute members of President Bashar al-Assad’s government have repeatedly failed as Syria is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Russia and China have also vetoed attempts to give the ICC a mandate to set up a special tribunal for Syria.

“It’s a step forward but not more than that,” Kaleck said. “Let’s be clear, this is one of the most serious crimes against humanity in the last 100 years, so the arrest of those who were involved is important but should not be the end of the story.” </s> BERLIN (Reuters) - Police have detained two Syrians in Germany and one in France on suspicion of torture and other crimes against humanity, prosecutors said on Wednesday, the first such arrests in Europe against suspected figures in Syria's feared security service.

Germany has "universal jurisdiction" laws that allow it to prosecute people for crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Such crimes can be prosecuted in France if the suspect is resident there or a victim is French.

"The significance of the arrests is that the trials are going to be the first time that torturers and victims are going to come face to face in a court of law," said Mazen Darwish, a Syrian lawyer.

"Survivors of the systematic torture of civilians in Assad jails are going to give evidence against their executioners, and this is a first," he said.

Federal prosecutors in Germany said that suspicions against the two who were arrested in Germany, which is home to more than 600,000 Syrians, included torturing prisoners during their work for the intelligence service.

The two suspects, identified as Anwar R., aged 56, and Eyad A., 42, were arrested by federal police in Berlin and Rhineland-Palatinate state.

As a high-ranking employee in the Syrian intelligence service, Anwar R. is strongly suspected of participating in crimes against humanity by torturing opposition activists between 2011 and 2012, prosecutors said in a statement.

"As head of the so-called investigative department, Anwar R. assigned and directed the operations in the prison, including the use of systematic and brutal torture," said the statement.

The other Syrian is suspected of helping to kill two people and torturing at least 2,000 people as an intelligence worker between July 2011 and January 2012, it said. He is suspected of working in the department Anwar A. was directing.

The suspect in France was arrested on Tuesday near Paris on suspicion of committing torture, crimes against humanity and war crimes between 2011 and 2013, Paris prosecutors said.

They added the arrest was linked to an investigation opened in 2015 when French officials received testimony from a former Syrian officer and 55,000 photos of 11,000 victims that he was able to bring with him when he fled the country in 2013.

The cases involve far more detailed allegations than the only similar case, of a Syrian army officer sentenced to eight months in prison in Sweden in 2017 over photographs showing him posing over dead bodies, rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni said.

Anwar R. has been in Germany since mid-2014 and Eyad A. since mid-2018, the prosecutor's spokesman told Reuters, adding that both suspects had applied for asylum in Germany.

"It was a question of time that someone is identified and will be accused and later on arrested, most probably indicted and put on trial in Germany or another European country," Wolfgang Kaleck, the head of European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) told Reuters.

Six torture survivors, some of whom live in Germany, have given testimony against one of the two detainees, Kaleck said.

The Syrian embassy in Berlin was not available for immediate comment.

Efforts to prosecute members of President Bashar al-Assad's government have repeatedly failed, as Syria is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Russia and China have also vetoed attempts to give the ICC a mandate to set up a special tribunal for Syria.

"It's a step forward but not more than that," Kaleck said. "Let's be clear, this is one of the most serious crimes against humanity in the last 100 years, so the arrest of those who were involved is important but should not be the end of the story." </s> GENEVA — German authorities announced the arrest on Wednesday of a former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officer and two subordinates suspected of crimes against humanity by torturing thousands of victims in detention centers run by President Bashar al-Assad’s security services.

The arrests were a result of a joint investigation by German and French prosecutors, the office of Germany’s federal prosecutor said in a statement on Wednesday. The German police had arrested two suspects, identified as Anwar R., 56, and Eyad A., 42, and placed them in pretrial detention, the statement said. Officials decline as policy to give the full names of suspects pending the outcome of legal proceedings against them.

They said the French police, “as part of a joint investigation team,” had detained a third suspect who was linked to Anwar, but gave no other details.

The man identified as Anwar R. “is the most serious regime perpetrator detained so far by some distance,” said William Wiley, a former war crimes prosecutor who leads the Center for International Justice and Accountability, a group collecting evidence of Syrian atrocities. “It’s a big day for everyone working on these issues since 2011, really big.” </s> Germany's investigative police force (Bundeskriminalamt) has arrested two alleged former employees of the Syrian secret service suspected of having committed crimes against humanity while working for the intelligence service in Syria.

Federal prosecutors said the two men, 56-year-old Anwar R. and 42-year-old Eyad A., were arrested by federal police in Berlin and Rhineland-Palatinate state respectively. The arrest of the two men came after French authorities apprehended a third Syrian man near Paris.

Prosecutors said that Anwar R., a high-ranking member of Syria's General Intelligence Service, is accused of participating in the abuse of detainees at a prison he oversaw in Damascus.

As lead investigator, the man allegedly ordered the use of systematic and brutal torture on anti-government activists between the end of April 2011 and the beginning of September 2012.

Eyad A., prosecutors said, was part of a unit that arrested hundreds of activists and brought them to the prison run by the other suspect.

Between the beginning of July 2011 and mid-January 2012, Eyad A. is suspected of helping to kill two people and torture and physically abuse at least 2,000 people.

Both Anwar R. and Eyad A. left Syria in 2012, prosecutors said. Anwar R. has been in Germany since mid-2014 and Eyad A. since mid-2018. Both suspects applied for asylum in Germany.

Prosecutors said the Syrian regime has been using brutal force to suppress all opposition activities critical of the government throughout the country since April 2011, and the Syrian secret services played an essential role.

Watch video 06:52 Share Syria: The fate of Germany's IS wives Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2zXjp Syria: The fate of Germany's IS wives

Editor's note: Deutsche Welle follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and obliges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases.

dv,law/jm (AFP, dpa)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Germany's investigative police force (Bundeskriminalamt) have arrested two alleged former employees of the Syrian secret service in Germany for suspected crimes against humanity while working for the intelligence service in Syria.

Federal prosecutors said the two men, 56-year-old Anwar R. and 42-year-old Eyad A., were arrested by federal police in Berlin and Rhineland-Palatinate state. They both left Syria in 2012.

Prosecutors said that Anwar R., a high-ranking member of Syria's General Intelligence Service, is accused of participating in the abuse of detainees at a prison he oversaw in Damascus.

As lead investigator, the man allegedly ordered the use of systematic and brutal torture on anti-government activists between the end of April 2011 and the beginning of September 2012

Eyad A., prosecutors said, was part of a unit that arrested hundreds of activists and brought them to the prison run by the other suspect.

Between the beginning of July 2011 and mid-January 2012, Eyad A. is suspected of helping to kill two people and torture and physically abuse at least 2,000 people.

Prosecutors said the Syrian regime has been using brutal force to suppress all opposition activities critical of the government throughout the country since April 2011, and the Syrian secret services played an essential role.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> A 45-year-old Dublin man has been arrested by Syrian Democratic Forces fighting ISIS in Syria.

He was one of five men detained, when patrols targeted a terror cell at Deir ez-Zor, on December 30.

The Kurdish backed Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF say it made the arrests after breaking up a terror ring that was preparing to attack civilians fleeing the war zone in masses.

The US supported militia says it detained five men, including one from Ireland, two from America and two from Pakistan.

The Irish passport holder is a 45-year-old man, who previously lived and worked as a security guard in Dublin.

The raid was carried out at Deir ez-Zor - the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the identity of the passport holder.

GardaÃ­ say the identity may be that of a naturalised Irish citizen who departed Ireland in 2013 and they are continuing to monitor developments.

The Taoiseach says he is aware of the reports and speaking during his visit to Mali in West Africa, Leo Varadkar said he is being kept informed of the situation.

"I've only heard about that in the last short while. The only information we have is that is that an Irish passport holder, an Irish citizen, has been taken into custody - is being held in Syria," said Mr Varadkar.

"We don't know the details of that so I can't comment on it in any detail.

"But what I will say is any Irish citizen around the world is entitled to consular assistance and we will get that."

In its statement, the SDF said: "The operation Jazeera Storm, carried out with the aim of liberating the last regions under the occupation of ISIS, continues steadily towards clearing the last bastions of the group.

"ISIS, which is now cornered in a small area after being cleared from large swathes of territory it once held, is suffering heavy losses due to operations of our forces.

"Recently, in order to prevent the advance of our forces, terrorists have attempted to carry out attacks several times.

"In this context, a group of terrorists who had been preparing to attack the civilians who were trying to get out of the war zone in masses was detected.

"Following long-term technical and physical follow-up, an operation against the cell was carried out by our forces.

"As a result of the operation, five terrorists originally from the United States, Ireland and Pakistan were captured."
Three Syrian nationals are arrested in Saarland suspected of terror links. Two are suspected of fighting with the Islamic State in Syria.