Police on hunt

German police conducted over two dozen raids all over Germany and captured three suspected al Qaeda operatives who may have plotted to bomb military and civilian targets in the very near future.

The police are continuing to hunt 10 more people who may be behind this latest, well-advanced bombing plot.

The police also seized bomb-making equipment and explosives. The plotters had been under police surveillance for several days as they gradually amassed chemicals and detonators. Police said the explosives could have been used in a terrorist attack as massive as the 2004 Madrid and 2005 London attacks, where a total of 243 people were killed.

The three men were said to be part of an Egyptian terrorist group that had coalesced with al Qaeda in 2001. A German political leader told media it was possible the attacks would have been carried out on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

The three men – two Germans converted to Islam and a Turk – may have undergone training in terrorist tactics overseas. One of the men was reportedly involved in a mosque in Neu-Ulm, a southern German town long believed to be a base of Islamist radicals.

They had already stockpiled over 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals which would be used in the bombing. There were strong indications that the Frankfurt airport, the busiest airport in continental Europe, and the US Air Force base in Ramstein, 130 kilometers southwest of Frankfurt, were among the targets of the plot.

An Islamic center in the Ulm area was also raided. Police seized computer equipment and documents which they hoped will yield leads to those who organized and financed the plot.

Police sources said the continued manhunt for 10 more people indicated that the underlying threat of terrorist attacks is still around. The possibilities of extremist violence continue to be real, although an imminent attack may have been smashed.

The police are also investigating the alleged plans of the group to use military detonators in the bombing plot. This lead could be crucial clues to identify the rest of the terrorist organization behind the plot.

Authorities have also underscored the need to closely monitor the behavior of new converts to Islam. A new convert is likely to make a strong statement and perform an act intended to prove their commitment. These acts invariably tend to be fanatical acts of terrorism.

The discovery of the plot gave substance to the interior minister’s oft-expressed fears that Germany was not just a base being used to plan terrorist attacks but was in real danger of being the target for such attacks. The September 11 attacks were planned in part by terrorists who stayed in Hamburg.