Two brothers arrested over alleged plot to attack German mega mall

Police have arrested two brothers on suspicion of planning to attack one of Germany’s biggest shopping centres, authorities said Friday, four days after a jihadist killed 12 people at a Berlin Christmas market.

Police said they had arrested two men, aged 28 and 31, originally from Kosovo, and were trying to establish how advanced the plot was and whether other people were involved.

Acting on a tip-off from the intelligence services, police were deployed to the massive shopping complex and a nearby Christmas market in the western city of Oberhausen late Thursday, they said.

The mall that was targeted, CentrO, is one of the largest in Germany with around 250 shops that are usually packed in the run-up to Christmas.