? ?
WORLD / Europe
Germany foils 'massive' attack on US citizens
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-06 09:54
KARLSRUHE, Germany?-- Germany said Wednesday it had arrested three
Islamic extremists preparing a massive bombing campaign targeting
Americans and US installations in the country.
A combination photo shows three men as they are escorted from the German
Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe September 5, 2007, who are
suspected of planning "massive bomb attacks" on US installations and
belonging to an Islamist militant group. [Reuters]
"They were planning massive attacks," Federal Prosecutor Monika Harms
said.
"As possible targets ... the suspects named discotheques and pubs and
airports frequented by Americans with a view to detonating explosives
loaded in cars and killing or injuring many people," Harms told a press
conference.
The men, two Germans and a Turk, had stockpiled more than 700 kilogrammes
(1,500 pounds) of hydrogen peroxide, the same chemical used by suicide
bombers in the 2005 attacks on London's transport system which killed 56
people, Harms said.
This had the explosive power of 550 kilogrammes of TNT, according to the
prosecutor.
Drums containing the chemicals were moved recently to a holiday home in
the Sauerland area near Frankfurt which had been rented under a false
name.
The men, in their 20s, had met up on Sunday to begin producing bombs,
Harms said, but were arrested on Tuesday.
They are suspected members of Islamic Jihad Union, a group with roots in
Uzbekistan that has ties to Al-Qaeda, and attended a training camp in
Pakistan in 2006.
According to federal police chief Joerg Ziercke, they had been under
surveillance since December, when one of the three was briefly detained
on suspicion of spying on a US military base in Hanau near Frankfurt.
The men were "driven by a hatred of US citizens," Ziercke said.
About 64,000 US military personnel are based in Germany, according to
Pentagon figures.
German officials did not confirm radio reports that the men had been
targeting Frankfurt international airport, one of Europe's busiest, and
the giant US military base in Ramstein.
"There were no concrete targets," Deputy Interior Minister August Hanning
told journalists in Berlin. "But the German police are speculating that
Frankfurt airport was one of these targets."
?? ?? 1?? 2?? ??
?? ?? 1?? 2?? ??
Top World News ?
* Italian tenor Pavarotti is dead
* Nuclear bombs mistakenly flown over US
* Britain approves human-animal embryo research
* Social security scandal angers Japanese
* US Sen. Craig resigns over sex sting
Today's Top News ?
* President Hu warns against secessionist activities
* Italian tenor Pavarotti is dead
* Nuke bombs mistakenly flown over US
* Bishop ordination to be speeded up
* 'No threat of big rise' in inflation - official
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Chinese School, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment