Germany arrests four in alleged anti-Muslim plot

DRESDEN , Germany, May 6 (UPI) -- German police arrested four people Wednesday accused of founding a group planning attacks on mosques and asylum seekers' homes.

Raids across Germany yielded leaders of the "Old School Society," whose members, prosecutors allege, planned violence against German mosques, housing for migrants arriving in Germany from North Africa and the middle East and leaders of Salafism, an ultra-conservative from of Islam.

Three men and a woman, identified only by their first names and last name initials, were arrested.

"According to current investigations, it was the group's goal to conduct attacks in smaller groups inside Germany on well-known Salafists, mosques and asylum seeker centers. For this purpose the four arrested procured explosives for possible terror attacks by the group," a statement from the prosecutors' office said.

Like most Western European countries, opinion polls have shown a high percentage of Germans to have anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant sentiments. A recent University of Leipzig survey found 43 percent of Germans polls agreeing that they felt alienated by the presence of large numbers of Muslims in Germany. The federal government has urged tolerance and respect for Islam within the country.

Over 200,000 people sought asylum applications in Germany in 2014; the government announced Tuesday it expects that number to double in 2015.

Many of the police raids Wednesday occurred in the Dresden area, a city regarded as a hotbed of neo-Nazi and anti-immigrant activity.