05germany550.jpgThe International Herald Tribune reports that three jihadists arrested in Germany targeted airports, military installations and public places frequented by Americans including discos and bars. Der Spiegel cites the Frankfurt Airport in particular. German federal prosecutor, Monika Harms, told reporters at a news conference, "They were planning massive attacks." The men reportedly include two German converts to Islam and one Turk.

According to court documents, surveillance of the terror cell began in December 2006 when one of the men, Fritz Gelowicz, a 28-year-old German born in Munich, was "seen scouting American military barracks in Hanau as a possible bombing target." On Wednesday, German authorities raided 41 locations across the country. The arrest of the three terror suspects was rather dramatic, with witnesses describing one of the raids by the German GSG9 (similar to SWAT) as "something out of an action movie." From IHT:

The arrests were made at a vacation home in Oberschledorn, a remote village of 900 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, north of Frankfurt. The suspects had rented the house to store chemicals to make explosives, officials said, and were preparing to leave when security forces swooped in.

One of the three men fled and, in a scuffle with a police officer, wrested a pistol from the officer's holster and shot him in the hand before being subdued. The officer was slightly wounded, officials said.

German news (dpa) reports that the attacks were to be made with car bombs made from explosives similar to those used in the London subway attack in July 2005. CNN Europe has more. 

(Photo: an unidentified man, left, believed to be a terror suspect, at the German Federal Court in Karlsruhe, Germany,on Wednesday. Michael Probst/AP)

Share This Article