SafetyIssues Personal and Public Safety News Articles: German Police Smash Terrorist Cell

German Police Smash Terrorist Cell
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Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 09/06/07 08:10:00
 
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.