'Massive' Terror Plot Foiled In Germany

Updated: 14:46, Wednesday September 05, 2007

<H2>German authorities have said three terror suspects planned "massive" attacks on an airport and US military base which could have been bigger than the London and Madrid bombings.

</H2> Police escort suspect from court

German Federal Prosecutor Monika Harms said the three had procured 700kg of hydrogen peroxide for making explosives.

"This is a good day for security in Germany," she said.

The head of Germany's Federal Crime Office, Joerg Ziercke, told a news conference the hydrogen peroxide could have been mixed with other substances to produce bombs more powerful than those used in London and Madrid.

Germany's defence minister Franz Josef Jung said the plot posed "an imminent threat".

Reports claimed Frankfurt's international airport and the American base in Ramstein were among the targets.

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The US National Security Council Spokesman said President Bush had been briefed on the arrests.

"He's pleased a potential attack was thwarted and appreciates the work of the German authorities and the co-operation by international law enforcement," Gordon Johndroe said.

Prosecutors said the suspects had trained at camps in Pakistan run by the Islamic Jihad Union and formed a German cell of the group.

Hydrogen peroxide seized by police

The suspects, two Germans aged 22 and 28 who converted to Islam and a 29-year-old Turk, first came to the attention of authorities when they were caught observing a US military facility in Hanau, near Frankfurt, at the end of last year.

The suspects appeared before judges at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe after being arrested yesterday.

Germany has been on high alert for terrorism since the city of Hamburg was used as a base for planning the September 11 attacks.

In April, the US embassy in Berlin announced it was boosting security at diplomatic and military facilities in Germany because of an increased threat.

Germany, which did not send troops to Iraq, has largely been spared atrocities like the Tube and train bombings in London and Madrid.

However, its involvement in the attempt to stabilise Afghanistan against Islamic insurgents has led to fears it may be targeted.