Uzbek trace in Saarland

German police uncovered terrorist plot

Germany is becoming one of the most important targets of international terrorism in Europe. One evidence of this was the results of a months-long police operation that ended here on Wednesday night. Three suspects of preparing large-scale terrorist attacks were arrested - Daniel S., Fritz G. and Aden J.

“It was a good day for Germany,” Federal Prosecutor General Monika Harms noted with satisfaction at yesterday's press conference in Karlsruhe, which was dedicated to this event. Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble, as expected, noted the professional work of the police and intelligence services. All this happened on the 35th anniversary of the terrible tragedy at the Olympic Games in Munich, when on August 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists carried out a bloody massacre on the territory of the Olympic Village in the house they seized where the Israeli team was located.

This time, terrorist attacks with a Muslim fundamentalist background were also being prepared in Germany. Two of those arrested turned out to be native Germans who converted to Islam. Their accomplice was an ethnic Turk who had received German citizenship. Day and night, this cell of the international Islamist network has been monitored by 300 police and intelligence officers since the beginning of the year. They were arrested in the tiny town of Oberschledorn in the Saarland in the very west of Germany. For this, the moment was chosen when the troika moved from theory to practice and began making real bombs.

At yesterday's press conference, it was stated that those arrested had already outlined specific goals to carry out terrorist attacks. They were connected mainly with the places of residence of American citizens in Germany. The largest attacks were to be on the American airbase in Ramstein, as well as the largest international airport in Frankfurt am Main. In addition, explosions were being prepared in the favorite recreation areas of American military personnel - discos, pubs, and restaurants.

German detectives who followed the arrested attackers noted their high professional training. By all indications, experts believe, all three were trained in one of the al-Qaeda camps in Pakistan. Military-style detonators found in their possession during their arrest point to the “international connections” of the suspects. Minister Schäuble admits the possibility that this group was controlled from Pakistani territory.

The German expert on the international activities of Al-Qaeda, Yassin Musharbash, is also confident in this, having published a book about the modern principles of the activities of global Islamist terrorist networks. Mr Musharbash yesterday expressed his belief that the arrested cell was in direct contact with the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU). This Islamist organization, which is in close connection with Al-Qaeda, is known, in particular, for having already carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli and American targets. German intelligence services note that the ISD, which originated in Uzbekistan, has recently been increasingly active in Pakistan. According to German authorities and independent experts, the ISD emerged in 2002, breaking away from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Relations with Germany were established from Pakistani territory. And in the summer of 2004, the first terrorist attacks followed against the Israeli and US embassies in Tashkent, and at the same time the building of the Prosecutor General's Office was attacked. A total of 47 people died.

As Yassin Musharbash notes, German intelligence services first sounded the alarm in connection with the activities of the ISD last fall. From American closed sources they learned that a group of people associated with this organization was recruiting new activists. This spring, American military authorities in Germany openly warned US citizens here about the real threat of terrorist attacks being prepared against them. In both cases, it was mainly about the activities of the ISD. Mr. Musharbash notes that ISD has not yet been studied deeply enough. Only the names of one of its supposed religious leaders are known, as well as the operational director. Among the active fighters, experts suggest the presence of veterans of, as the expert put it, “Afghan jihad against the Russians.” It is assumed that ISD personnel may be present in Turkey.

Yuri Shpakov, Berlin