A 12-year-old boy tried to detonate a bomb at a Christmas market in the western town of Ludwigshafen, German prosecutors say. Judicial sources cited by Focus magazine said the German born child of Iraqi heritage was “strongly radicalised” and reportedly instructed by a member of the so-called Islamic State. It is not clear how police were able to link the incident to the child, but he has reportedly been held in a youth facility since December 6 with the consent of his parents. The jihadist group has made extensive use of children to carry out suicide bombings and other attacks in Syria, Iraq and other countries such as Turkey. But the boy is believed to be the youngest suspected attacker yet apprehended in Europe.
