Psychobilly freakout
HellBilly
Christ on a bike 12
A 12-year-old boy is alleged to have attempted to detonate a homemade nail bomb at a Christmas market in Germany.
The device - a glass jar filled with a combustible powder and nails - was destroyed by a police bomb squad after being found in the western city of Ludwigshafen.
Stefan Biehl, from the federal prosecution service, which handles terrorism cases, said: "I can confirm that we have started an investigation based on the discovery of a nail bomb in Ludwigshafen."
Reports say the boy first tried to detonate the device at the city's Christmas market on 26 November.
On his second attempt, he allegedly hid the explosive with a detonator in a backpack, in bushes near the city's town hall, where a passer-by spotted it and informed police.
The story was first reported by weekly news magazine Focus, which said the alleged attacker was a German-Iraqi boy who may have been radicalised by Islamic State jihadists.
Prosecutors have now confirmed they are investigating.
The boy, who is too young to face a German court, was reportedly held and placed into a juvenile care facility.
Local prosecutor Hubert Stroeber said it would be an exaggeration to call the device a bomb, saying that although the powder was combustible, it was unclear whether it would have exploded.
A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said the report was "frightening" but declined to comment further.
A 12-year-old boy is alleged to have attempted to detonate a homemade nail bomb at a Christmas market in Germany.
The device - a glass jar filled with a combustible powder and nails - was destroyed by a police bomb squad after being found in the western city of Ludwigshafen.
Stefan Biehl, from the federal prosecution service, which handles terrorism cases, said: "I can confirm that we have started an investigation based on the discovery of a nail bomb in Ludwigshafen."
Reports say the boy first tried to detonate the device at the city's Christmas market on 26 November.
On his second attempt, he allegedly hid the explosive with a detonator in a backpack, in bushes near the city's town hall, where a passer-by spotted it and informed police.
The story was first reported by weekly news magazine Focus, which said the alleged attacker was a German-Iraqi boy who may have been radicalised by Islamic State jihadists.
Prosecutors have now confirmed they are investigating.
The boy, who is too young to face a German court, was reportedly held and placed into a juvenile care facility.
Local prosecutor Hubert Stroeber said it would be an exaggeration to call the device a bomb, saying that although the powder was combustible, it was unclear whether it would have exploded.
A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said the report was "frightening" but declined to comment further.