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Crime

Dresden police raid neo-Nazi group

November 30, 2016

Police in Saxony have raided 19 locations associated with the far-right "Freie Kameradschaft Dresden" group. The group is suspected of committing a number of attacks targeting refugees and political opponents.

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Deutschland Polizeikräfte nach dem Amoklauf in München
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Babbar

Saxony's public prosecutor's office said that six members of the neo-Nazi group were arrested following Wednesday's raids.

The "Freie Kameradschaft Dresden," which translates as the "Free Comradeship of Dresden," is suspected of involvement in 14 criminal acts, including an explosive attack, attempted arson, damage to property and several instances of causing bodily arm.

The detained members were also charged for attacking asylum seekers and political opponents. The prosecutor's office said the group had targeted refugee lodgings in Freital, Heidenau and Dresden. 

The six arrested members were expected to be presented in front a magistrate on Wednesday, the day of their arrest.

Extremism in Saxony

Authorities said they had been investigating the "Freie Kameradschaft Dresden" since June 2015. The group is reportedly made up of 15 men and two women, ranging from ages 16 to 30.

Several extremist attacks on asylum seekers and politically-motivated clashes have taken place in the eastern state of Saxony in recent months. In September, xenophobic attackers set off explosives outside a Dresden mosque and convention center. Also in September, the town Bautzen was rocked after a series of violent clashes between refugees and right-wing extremists. 

Dresden has also seen a number of anti-migrant marches organized by Germany's self-styled "anti-Islamization" movement, Pegida.

The state parliament, meanwhile, has the highest share of ALternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentarians of any in Germany, after the euroskeptic, anti-immigration party claimed more than 20 percent of the vote in state elections this March.

Saxony's police unit responsible for tackling extremism led Wednesday's raids. It was assisted by local forces from Leipzig and Dresden, as well as the state's investigative police force, the LKA Sachsen.

dm/msh (dpa, AFP)