Stuck On Stupid

Terror Plot Targeted U.S. Base

Update: Three suspects have been arrested :

Three suspected Islamic militants were arrested for allegedly plotting “imminent” and “massive” attacks on the Ramstein Air Base, a major U.S. and NATO military hub, and Frankfurt’s busy international airport, German authorities said today. German federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the three – two of whom were German converts to Islam – had trained at terror camps in Pakistan and procured some 1,500 pounds of hydrogen peroxide for making explosives. And a top legislator said the group could have struck “in a few days,” noting a “sensitive period” that includes the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

“We were able to succeed in recognizing and preventing the most serious and massive bombings,” Harms told reporters.

Officials said the hydrogen peroxide, stored in a hideout, could have been mixed with other additives to produce a bomb with the explosive power of 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 (transit) bombings,” Joerg Ziercke, the head of Germany’s Federal Crime Office, said at a joint press conference with Harms.

The three suspects – two Germans, aged 22 and 28, and a 29-year-old Turk – first came to the attention of authorities because they had been observing a U.S. military facility at the end of 2006, officials said. All three had undergone training at camps in Pakistan run by the Islamic Jihad Union, and had formed a German cell of the group.

The Islamic Jihad Union was described as a Sunni Muslim group based in Central Asia that was an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, an extremist group with origins in that country.

Frankfort International Airport and Ramstein Air Base in Germany were targets for Islamic Terrorist attacks . The planned attacks were described as a massive. More details as they are available.

Three suspected Islamic militants were arrested for allegedly plotting “imminent” and “massive” attacks on the Ramstein Air Base , a major U.S. and NATO military hub, and Frankfurt’s busy international airport, German authorities said Wednesday.

German federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the three had trained at terror camps in Pakistan and procured some 1,500 pounds of hydrogen peroxide for making explosives. And a top legislator said the group could have struck “in a few days,” noting a “sensitive period” that includes the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Officials said the hydrogen peroxide, stored in a hideout, could have been mixed with other additives to produce a bomb with the explosive power of 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 (transit) bombings,” Joerg Ziercke, the head of Germany’s Federal Crime Office, said at a joint press conference with Harms.

The three suspects—two Germans and a Turk—first came to the attention of authorities because they had been observing a U.S. military facility at the end of 2006, officials said. All three had undergone training at camps in Pakistan run by the Islamic Jihad Union, and had formed a German cell of the group.

The Islamic Jihad Union was described as a Sunni Muslim group based in Central Asia that was an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, an extremist group with origins in that country.

“There was an imminent threat,” German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung told ARD broadcaster.

The three suspects were brought before judges in a closed proceeding at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe after being flown in by helicopter, court officials said.

Prosecutors in Karlsruhe said the arrests took place Tuesday afternoon, and that police had also carried out searches across the country. The German reports came a day after Denmark authorities said they had thwarted a bomb plot when authorities rounded up eight alleged Islamic militants believed to have links to al-Qaida.

t/b: Michelle Malkin

Bookmark It

Hide Sites