3 planned 'massive airport bombs'

[JonathanBelles]

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Three terror suspects held in Germany planned to carry out "imminent" and "massive" bombs attacks on a U.S. air base and Frankfurt's international airport, according to prosecutors.

The suspects, two Germans aged 22 and 29 and a 29-year-old Turk, received terrorist training in Pakistan and had close ties to al Qaeda, according to Jorg Ziercke, president of Germany's Federal Criminal Investigation Office.

Ziercke said the group was united by a "hatred against American citizens" as it planned attacks against Frankfurt airport, a popular international travel hub, and Ramstein air base, a major transit point for the U.S. military into the Middle East and Central Asia.

The group had amassed 680 kg (1,500 pounds) of hydrogen peroxide to make bombs, German federal prosecutor Monika Harms told reporters on Wednesday.

Harms said the three suspects also planned to attack bars and restaurants popular with Americans.

She said the planned attacks would have been among the biggest yet on German soil. Possible scenarios would have been car bombings used in simultaneous attacks.

Officials said the hydrogen peroxide could have produced a bomb with the explosive power of 540 kg of TNT.

"This would have enabled them to make bombs with more explosive power than the ones used in the London and Madrid bombings," Ziercke said at a joint news conference with Harms.

Ziercke said anti-terrorist police seized two of the suspects at a holiday home in central Germany on Tuesday. A third escaped through a bathroom window, but was caught nearby.

The three suspects appeared before judges in a closed court in Karlsruhe after being flown in by helicopter, court officials told The Associated Press.

"This is a good day for security in Germany," Harms said.

German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble said the arrests showed the country's security forces were effective.

"These were very dangerous, highly professional terrorists," he said, but addded that "the danger has been headed off at the right time."

Wolfgang Bosbach, a top legislator for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, said the suspects had been under observation by security officials for a long time."

Bosbach told N24 television an attack could have occurred "in a few days," possibly to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and an upcoming parliamentary debate on whether to extend troop levels in Afghanistan.

"We are in a highly sensitive period," he added.

The German terror arrests came a day after Danish police arrested eight "militant Islamists," accusing them of storing "unstable explosives."

At U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Capt. Jeff Gradec said German authorities had alerted them of a possible terrorist threat to American installations, but not specifically Ramstein.

Gradec said EUCOM had no plans to raise its force protection levels in light of the plots.


Ramstein Air Base is located in western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state and is about 125 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of Frankfurt.

Authorities in both Germany and the United States have warned of the possibility of a terrorist attack, and security measures have been raised, according to an AP report.
advertisement

However CNN's International Security Correspondent Paula Newton reported that intelligence officials have been calling for more cooperation to combat terror plots in Europe, in particular the faster transfer of information between different countries.

Europe is at high risk, officials say, due not only to the Iraq war, but also the NATO mission in Afghanistan, to which many European countries contribute, she said, adding that the Muslim population in Europe is beginning to feel more alienated than it has done in previous decades. "This brings Europe to the battleground," Newton said.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

[tropicana]

i'm glad they caught those hoodlums, esp. with the 6 year anniversary of 9-11 coming up next Tuesday ( it was also a Tuesday back in 2001 ).

-justin-

[x-y-no]

Well this is far and away the most credible looking plot in some time.

Good job by the Germans catching them ...

[Dionne]

Kudos to the Germans.....nice catch!!

[Stephanie]

Great work Germany!