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| Joerg Ziercke (left), head of the Federal Crime Office, and prosecutor Monika Harms displayed the seized chemicals Wednesday. Thomas Kienzle/AP |
'Massive' bombing plot puts home-grown terror under Europe's spotlight
Arrests in Denmark and Germany this week could spur widening investigative police powers.
from the September 6, 2007 edition
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German police first became aware of the plotters in December, when they observed suspected Islamists under surveillance scoping out sites such as the US air base in Ramstein; Frankfurt International Airport; as well as discos, clubs, and restaurants frequented by American military personnel in Germany.
Schäuble said at least one of the men had links to a mosque in the southern city of Neu Ulm that investigators have long suspected of having ties to extremists. The man was already under surveillance when police obtained evidence that an attack plot was unfolding. Police continued to observe the three men, who had amassed enough chemicals to make a bomb with the explosive power equivalent to 1,200 pounds of TNT.
"This would have enabled them to make bombs with more explosive power than the ones used in the London and Madrid bombings," Joerg Ziercke, the head of Germany's Federal Crime Office, told reporters at a news conference in Karlsruhe. "I could imagine, for example, a scenario with several car bombs exploding simultaneously in different places."
During the observation, German investigators decided not to take any chances. While the suspects were out of the house, officials said, police sneaked in and replaced the volatile fluid with a watered-down chemical in case the suspects were able to elude the police.
Even if the risk seemed more calculated after the switch, police remained on alert. On Tuesday, the three men began building bombs, Mr. Ziercke told reporters at the news conference in Karlsruhe. Nervous discussion erupted among the suspects because hours before, the three men had been stopped by police during a reconnaissance drive. They worried about the safety of their hideout and discussed finding another house.
Police decided then that it was time to move in. When the three began to leave the house, federal police and members of the GSG9 special police unit surprised them. One man bolted, but was stopped after 300 yards. He managed to grab a policeman's weapon and shot an officer in the hand before being subdued, officials said.
"We were able to succeed in recognizing and preventing the most serious and massive bombings," federal prosecutor Monika Harms told reporters.
Ms. Harms said police raided some 41 homes nationally in connection with the arrests. The men – whose ages ranged from 22 to 28 – appeared to belong to a group called the Islamic Jihad Union, which police said has ties to Islamic groups in Uzbekistan.
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