Author: Alexander G. Higgins
Publication: The Guardian
Date: September 9, 2007
URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6907332,00.html
Three Islamic terror suspects arrested on
suspicion of planning massive bombings in Germany may have been part of a
larger network involving up to 50 people, an official said Saturday.
The three, arrested Tuesday in a raid on a
vacation residence in central Germany, had allegedly stockpiled enough hydrogen
peroxide to build bombs more powerful than those that killed 191 commuters
in Madrid in 2004 and 52 in London in 2005. Officials said all three attended
terror training camps in Pakistan last year.
German authorities believe two German converts
and a Turk were only the leading tip of the planning, said Petra Kneuer, spokeswoman
for the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
She said authorities were investigating seven
more suspects inside and outside Germany as part of what could be a larger
network, and that reports that about 50 people may be involved are ``not unrealistic.''
The two German suspects have been identified
as Fritz Martin Gelowicz, 28, described as the leader of an Islamic Jihad
Union terror cell in Germany, and Daniel Martin Schneider, 22. The third man
has been identified as Adem Yilmaz, 29, born in Turkey but living in Germany.
Last New Year's Eve, one of the suspects was
spotted studying a U.S. Army base at Hanau, near Frankfurt, and security officials
say he may have been scouting it as a target.
Prosecutors have said potential targets might
have included restaurants, pubs, discotheques, airports and other places frequented
by Americans.
Joerg Ziercke, the head of the Federal Crime
Office, said the arrests had disrupted the plan. ``The peak of the danger
has passed,'' he said.
Asked about a report in the news weekly Focus
that the three man had obtained vans across the border in France, Kneuer said
the purpose of the vehicles had not been determined.
``So far it hasn't been shown that there really
was a link to the planned attacks,'' she told The Associated Press.
The three suspects allegedly belonged to the
Islamic Jihad Union, an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which
has origins in that Central Asian country. The union is marked by ``profound
hatred'' of U.S. citizens, officials said.
The extremism that fueled the alleged plot
was cultivated in the city of Ulm, on the banks of the Danube River in southwestern
Germany, security officials said.
Ulm, the birthplace of Albert Einstein, has
been known for its cathedral, which has one of the largest church towers in
the world. But in recent years it has become a hotbed of radical Islamic activity.
Security officials said Gelowicz attended an Islamic center that was later
closed by authorities as a security risk.
German politicians called Saturday on Islamic
groups and communities in Germany to step up their commitment to the fight
against terrorism. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Justice Minister
Brigitte Zypries said Muslims should report potentially violent extremists
to authorities.
``I am certain that the peace-loving Muslims
in our country want to keep violent radicals from discrediting their faith
community,'' Zypries was quoted as saying by the weekly Bild am Sonntag.
