German Officials Arrest 3 Men on Terror Charges
05 September 2007
German authorities have arrested three men on charges of planning what they describe as "massive" bomb attacks on Frankfurt's international airport and the U.S. military base in Ramstein.
Federal prosecutor Monica Harms says the suspects had amassed huge amounts of hydrogen peroxide for use in possible simultaneous car bombings. She says possible targets could have been discotheques, bars and airports frequented by Americans.
The U.S. air base at Ramstein is a major transport hub for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Frankfurt airport is one of Europe's busiest.
A White House spokesman called the arrests proof of the danger terrorists pose. He again stressed U.S. readiness to fight the threat.
In Strasbourg, the European Union's top justice official, Franco Frattini, said the threat of new attacks continues to be high despite the arrests.
Two of the suspects arrested late Tuesday are German citizens, the third is Turkish.
German officials say the suspects had received terrorism training in Pakistan at a camp run by the Islamic Jihad Union, a Sunni Muslim group with ties to Islamic organizations in Uzbekistan. Officials say all three harbor a profound hatred of U.S. citizens.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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