Three arrested for police ambush in Germany, Islamist link unclear

Cologne, Germany - German police formally arrested three teenagers who ambushed two policemen in Cologne earlier this week, the German authorities confirmed Friday.

However, spokesman Tino Seesko of the Cologne public prosecutor's office did not confirm media reports claiming that the attack had been motivated by Islamist violence.

Earlier, the daily Koelner Rundschau had reported that the young men, aged 15, 16, and 17 and with a background of migration, had repeatedly referred to "Jihad" (Holy War) during their interrogations.

The regional public broadcaster WDR also cited the teenagers as saying that they wanted to kill the police officers in order to send a signal of Islamist terror.

The men had tricked a 26-year-old police woman and her 38-year-old colleague late on Tuesday by making an emergency call to police. When the officers approached one of them who was lying on the ground, the two others came out of hiding and threatened the police with firearms.

The young men fled but fired back at the officers after these placed two warning shots. It later emerged that the teenagers' firearms had only been signal pistols. (dpa)

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