Three held in Germany over terror plot
By Hugh Williamson in Berlin
Published: September 5 2007 10:21 | Last updated: September 5 2007 10:21
German security forces have prevented a terror attack in Germany that could have been more deadly than the Madrid and London bombings, top security officials said on Wednesday.
Police on Tuesday arrested three men who had planned simultaneous car bomb attacks against US military and civil targets, such as pubs and discos, Monika Harms, federal chief prosecutor, said at a press conference in Karlsruhe.
The men â two Germans who had converted to Islam and a Turkish national â are alleged members of âIslamic Jihad Unionâ, a little known terror group linked to Al Qaeda that has its roots in Uzbekistan, Ms Harms said.
The group had obtained 12 barrels of liquid weighing 730kg to be used in preparing explosives. This could have resulted in the equivalent of 550kg of the TNT explosive, Ms Harms added. âThis was one of the most serious terror attacks ever planned in Germanyâ she said.
âThere could have been a very big death tollâ as the amount of explosives exceeded those used in the Madrid subway bombing and the London transport bombing in 2005, she said.
The men â who in 2006 had trained in terror camps in north Pakistan â were driven by âa hatred of US citizensâ, according to Jörg Ziercke, president of the BKA federal crime agency. US authorities were involved in investigations that led to the arrests, he said.
The alleged terror cell had been under surveillance since December 2006, when one member was seen spying on a US military base in Hanau near Frankfurt.
The group started gathering the explosive liquid in February and in August rented a holiday apartment â reportedly in Oberschledorn, western Germany â to build the explosives. The group had gathered incendiary devices, cables and other equipment, Ms Harms said.
In July security officials managed to swap the content of the barrels with less explosive liquids, apparently without the group knowing. 30 premises across Germany were also raided by police, with terror and bomb-related information found.
Earlier, Franz Josef Jung, German defence minister, told German television the arrests occurred because "there was an imminent security threat".
Security officials in Berlin said the arrests may be linked to raids and arrests in Denmark on Tuesday, when, according to Danish police, eight people with alleged links to Al Qaeda were detained in order to prevent an attack.
Germany's interior ministry and BND foreign intelligence agency have been warning for several months of an increased danger of Islamic terror attacks in Germany, possibly linked to Berlin's military involvement in Afghanistan.
Germany has not been the target of a major Islamic terror attack in recent years, but several alleged terror cells have been broken up and suspects arrested, for instance a Lebanese man charged earlier this year with planning a series of train bombs in 2006. Three of the pilots involved in the September 11 2001 terror attacks had been living in Hamburg.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007