A police officer (R) and security guards (L) stand guard near the capital's Brandenburg Gate on December 31, 2016,
A police officer stands guard near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on 31 December 2016 Getty Images

A 19-year-old Syrian man will stand trial today (4 January) accused of scoping out targets in Berlin for attacks by the Islamic State (Isis/Daesh) terror group.

The defendant, who has been named only as Shaas Al-M, allegedly fought for the group in Syria before arriving in Germany as an asylum seeker in August, 2015.

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Among the potential targets he is accused of gathering information on are the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag.

The trial is significant as it is the first of a militant allegedly directly deployed to Germany by IS. He has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest in March.

He will stand trial in a special state security court in Berlin charged with membership of a foreign terrorist organisation, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years, and military weapons law violations.

It comes after Tunisian failed asylum seeker Anis Amri allegedly killed 12 people when he drove a truck into crowds at a Christmas market on 19 December.

In a video released by IS after Amri was shot dead by Italian police, he pledges allegiance to the group.

Isis Islamic State