2007 bomb plot in Germany

2007 bomb plot in Germany
LocationMedebach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
TargetRamstein Air Base, Frankfurt Airport and other public locations
Attack type
Car bombing, mass murder (attempted)
WeaponsHydrogen peroxide and military-grade detonators
Deaths0
Injured0
PerpetratorsFritz Gelowicz, Attila Selek, Daniel Schneider, Adem Yilmaz

The 2007 bomb plot in Germany, planned by the al-Qaeda controlled,[1] Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) affiliated Sauerland terror cell (German: Sauerland-Gruppe, lit. 'Sauerland Group'), was discovered following an extensive nine-month investigation involving more than 600 agents[2] in five German states. The number of agents involved in a counterterrorism operation led by the federal police had never been the case before. At the same time, Danish police in Copenhagen were busy with explosives. A Pakistani and an Afghan man have been charged with preparing to carry out their attacks under al-Qaeda plans. Authorities said they were unaware of any direct links between the terrorists arrested in the two European countries.[3] Three men were arrested on 4 September 2007 while leaving a rented cottage[4] in the Oberschledorn district of Medebach, Germany where they had stored 700 kg (1,500 lb) of a hydrogen peroxide-based mixture and 26 military-grade detonators,[5][6] and were attempting to build car bombs.[7] A supporter was arrested in Turkey. All four had attended an IJU-training camp in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2006.[2] They were convicted in 2010 and given prison sentences of varying lengths;[8] all have since been released.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ "'Massive' bomb plot thwarted in Germany, authorities say | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b Eijkman, Quirine (8 June 2014). "The German Sauerland Terror Plot Reconsidered". Perspectives on Terrorism. 8 (4). ISSN 2334-3745. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Germany says it foiled bomb plot - The Boston Globe". archive.boston.com. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference vans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Kulish, Nicholas; Mekhennet, Souad (8 September 2007). "From Fritz to Adbullah: conversion shocks Germans". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
  6. ^ Der Spiegel: Teenager schmuggelte Zünder nach Deutschland, 6 October 2007
  7. ^ "Communications Intercept Led To Bomb-Plot Arrests". Los Angeles Times. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Germany: No Choice But to Reject Terrorist Extradition to US". www.voanews.com. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2020.