Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
צילום: רויטרס
‘Al-Qaeda network may extend to Syria'
Network of suspects arrested in al-Qaeda-linked bomb plot may extend into Syria, Europe, German interior minister says
The network of the suspects arrested last month in an al Qaeda-linked bomb plot in Germany may have extended to Syria and other countries in Europe, the German interior minister said on Monday.
"They worked in a very conspirative and professional conspirative manner," Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters as he met US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in Washington.
German police earlier this month arrested three men, said to have trained at militant camps in Pakistan, on suspicion of plotting large bomb attacks on a Frankfurt airport and US installations in Germany. US electronic surveillance played a key role in disrupting the plot, authorities have said.
Schaeuble said the suspects had an international network that ranged to "not only Pakistan (but also) Syria, and even there are links maybe to other European countries."
There were also possible additional contacts in Germany but authorities lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute, he said.
Schaeuble and Chertoff met for talks on a broad range of security issues.
Schaeuble's aggressive push against terrorism has underscored strengthening German-US security ties. But he has also drawn criticism from Germany's Social Democrats, partners of Chancellor Angela Merkel's "grand coalition" government, for warning this month there was a risk of nuclear attack by militants.
Chertoff, asked if he shared Schaeuble's concern over a radiological "dirty bomb", said he did.
"I don't have any information that suggests there's a threat that's imminent, but I do know that it's not beyond the capability of terrorists to put something like that together," Chertoff said.
