Three Islamist would-be bombers were detained in the remote village of Oberschledorn, in the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. All three had grown up in Germany, and two of them were Germans, aged 28 and 19, who had converted to Islam. All three had undergone terrorist training in Pakistan. They are linked to a group called "Islamic Jihad Union", which has already carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli and US targets
In a garage in the Black Forest region, around 400 km from where they were arrested, they had been stocking more than 700 kilogrammes of hydrogen peroxide. The chemical was to be used to mix explosives that would have been more powerful than those used in the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
Reportedly, the three detained had selected shops, restaurants and night clubs in the Frankfurt area frequented by US military personnel as possible targets. The planned attacks may also be linked, however, to Germany's own military engagement in Afghanistan and a planned debate in the German parliament on extending the mandates for the Bundeswehr force there.
EU Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini reacted to the news, in a Parliament debate on the fight against terrorism, saying: "This morning, we learned that suspect terrorists have been arrested in Frankfurt and the German defence minister said that an attack was imminent. Would you say that in all this cases no results have been achieved? Don't you believe that stopping the final stage of a terror attack is in itself a fantastic result? But it shows that there is no room for complacency or letting our guard down."
In the same debate, Conservative leader Joseph Daul cited the planned attacks as proof of the importance of replacing EU anti-terrorism co-ordinator Gijs de Vries: "Terrorist organisations work in networks and make use of the most advanced technologies to accomplish their missions. Only by making considerable common investments in terms of intelligence, in terms of financial and human resources, do we have a chance of neutralising those networks."
Addressing the US House Homeland Security Committee, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called the foiled attacks "a sobering reminder of the fact that six years after 9/11, the intent of al-Qaeda and its allies to wage war on the West and the United States remains unabated".
