(LifeSiteNews) — Five Muslim men have been arrested for allegedly planning a terror attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria, Germany.

The suspects are accused of planning an attack on a Christmas market in the area of Dingolfing in Lower Bavaria, possibly by driving a vehicle into a crowd, the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office said.

According to Der Spiegel, the investigators are assuming that the suspects were motivated by an Islamist intent. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the suspects are a 56-year-old Egyptian, a 37-year-old Syrian, and three Moroccans aged 22, 28, and 30. The Egyptian man, an Islamic preacher, is said to have called for the attack during a sermon in a mosque in the Dingolfing-Landau area.

The investigators said the stated goal of the attack was “to kill or injure as many people as possible.” The three Moroccans were allegedly prepared to carry out the attack. The Syrian is said to have encouraged the men in their decision.

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Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann stressed that a thorough investigation into the case must be conducted. According to Hermann, the attack was “not imminent,” and it remains unclear which Christmas market was supposed to be the target of the potential perpetrators.

The Turkish-Islamic Ditib community in Dingolfing said that it strongly rejects all forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism. It only has state-trained imams from Turkey, “and they would not preach anything bad,” the organization told BR24. According to the community board, it is conceivable that the sermon by the Egyptian preacher was held in a private prayer room.

German Christmas markets have been the target of Islamic attacks frequently in recent years. In December 2023, two teenagers, one of them an Afghan migrant, were arrested because they plotted to ram a vehicle loaded with explosives into a Christmas market. Last year in December, a Saudi-born doctor drove his SUV into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six and injuring many hundreds. Moreover, videos online from 2024 and 2025 have shown large groups of mostly Middle Eastern men parading through Christmas markets with Syrian or Palestinian flags, intimidating visitors.

Earlier this month, a youth gang attacked a live nativity scene at a Christmas market in Germany, punching donkeys in the face and later urinating in a Protestant church.

After the Magdeburg terror attack, German Christmas markets increased their security significantly, resulting in surging costs. According to Euro News, Magdeburg spent at least €250,000 ($292,958) on new security systems before reopening its Christmas market again this year, following the 2024 massacre.