German investigators were last night questioning five suspected Islamist terrorists detained on suspicion of planning an attack to coincide with the start of the war in Iraq.
As police in Berlin swooped on at least six locations in the capital, including a mosque, anti-terrorist prosecutors issued a statement appearing to link the suspects with al-Qaeda. It said the five were suspected of having founded a terrorist organisation in Berlin ”at the behest of the international network of violent Islamists”.
The statement, drawn up by the office of Germany’s general federal prosecutor, which is responsible for all terrorist investigations, said the group’s aim was to recruit Arab students for future bomb attacks.
It added: ”There are indications that the suspects possibly would use the beginning of the war in Iraq as an opportunity to carry out an attack.”
Among the premises being searched was a building in the mainly working-class area of Neukölln which houses the al-Nur mosque.
Suspects initially linked to Islamist militants have been held in Berlin several times since September 11, but most have been freed. Yesterday’s detentions – the five were not formally arrested – were the first to hint at the existence of a full-blown cell in the capital.
Prosecutors said the searches were aimed at linking the suspects with evidence of possible attack plans.
The raids came after a string of warnings from the German authorities of an increased risk of terrorism in the event of war.
Earlier yesterday, the interior minister, Otto Schily, said the authorities were bolstering security, and their surveillance of transit points and British, US, Israeli and Jewish targets, saying that the al-Qaeda network may step up attacks during the war. – Guardian Unlimited Â