Germany Arrests 2 Syrian Extremists, 1 Accused of War Crimes

• Germany Arrests 2 Syrian Extremists, 1 Accused of War Crimes

German authorities have arrested two Syrian nationals who allegedly were members of the extremist Nusra Front — one of them is accused of war crimes involving the murder of dozens of civilians.

The federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement Thursday that 35-year-old Abdalfatah H.A. allegedly committed war crimes by killing 36 employees of the Syrian government together with his Nusra unit in March 2013. The statement says he carried out so-called Shariah death sentences.

The other one, 26-year-old Abdulrahman A.A., belonged to the same combat unit as Abdalfatah H.A. and both participated in an armed battle against Syrian government troops including taking over a big arms depot near Mahin in November 2013.

The men were arrested Thursday and Wednesday in the cities of Duesseldorf and Giessen and their apartments were raided.