The Local Germany

Düsseldorf 'terror cell' in court over bomb plot

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:29:00 +0200

Four suspected al Qaida members went on trial in Düsseldorf on Wednesday accused of planning to set off a shrapnel bomb in a crowd to cause a blood bath – and then to detonate another one once rescue services arrived.

Kidnapped German killed in raid to save him

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:30:00 +0200

A German engineer kidnapped in Nigeria in January and purportedly held by al-Qaeda's north African branch was killed by his captors on Thursday during a military raid to save him, security sources said.

Nigeria arrests five over kidnapped German

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:51:00 +0200

Nigerian authorities are holding five men, including a Mauritanian, believed linked to al Qaida's north African branch over the January kidnapping of a German, two security sources said on Tuesday.

Germans jailed in UK for owning terrorist material

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:21:00 +0100

Two German men were jailed in Britain on Monday after pleading guilty to possessing articles from an al-Qaida magazine.

Al Qaida 'planned to take German hostages'

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:15:00 +0100

Documents seized in May linked to al Qaida leaders indicate that the terrorist organisation was aiming to take hostages in Germany and other Western countries as part of a "war of attrition," according to a newspaper report.

Insurer covered terrorist wanted internationally

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:51:00 +0200

German insurer Victoria ignored warnings from intelligence services and insured an internationally wanted terrorist for more than two years – with policies worth up to €2 million – according to internal papers seen by the Handelsblatt newspaper.

Friedrich: 1,000 potential terrorists in Germany

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:16:00 +0200

Around 1,000 potential Islamist terrorists live in Germany, 128 of whom could be classed as capable of carrying out attacks, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Monday.

Bin laden documents detail terror threat

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:13:00 +0200

Data seized from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s compound by US forces in May included plans to destabilize Europe’s economy with specific terrorist attacks on Germany.

Salafist threat growing, interior ministers say

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:27:00 +0200

German state interior ministers are warning of a rise in radical Salafist Islam that poses a risk of home-grown terrorism, with one politician calling for changes to residency laws so “hate preachers” can be more easily deported.

Terror suspect extradited from Austria

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:31:00 +0200

A German man arrested on suspicion of recruiting for a terror group mounting attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan was extradited from Austria Monday, federal prosecutors said.

Terror cell member jailed

Mon, 09 May 2011 20:58:00 +0200

A 25-year-old German-Syrian dual national was sentenced to four years and nine months imprisonment by a German court Monday for belonging to an Al-Qaida-linked terror cell active in Pakistan.

Merkel reevaluates 'joy' over bin Laden killing

Sat, 07 May 2011 12:37:00 +0200

Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to tone down her now controversial expression of joy at the killing of Osama bin Laden on Saturday by expressing 'relief' after a swelling disapproval of her initial reaction.

Düsseldorf terror plot uncovered via passenger data from US

Fri, 06 May 2011 11:30:00 +0200

German authorities were alerted to a terrorist plot in Düsseldorf by US authorities using airline passenger data, the Rheinische Post newspaper reported Friday.

Germans say bin Laden's death no cause for joy

Fri, 06 May 2011 10:32:00 +0200

Most Germans see no reason to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden and think the US government should have put the terrorist leader on trial rather than killed him, according to a poll published Friday.

German media roundup: The death of bin Laden

Tue, 03 May 2011 14:10:00 +0200

History’s most extensive and expensive manhunt has come to an end. In The Local's media roundup, the German press on Tuesday gauge the symbolism versus the reality.

Beheading al-Qaida: Is Germany safer?

Mon, 02 May 2011 18:57:00 +0200

The death of Osama bin Laden is a historic moment coinciding with key al-Qaida arrests in Germany. But does it make us safer? The Local asked Christian Tuschhoff, terrorism expert at Berlin's Free University.

Coalition split by anti-terror laws row

Mon, 02 May 2011 16:56:00 +0200

Tensions are mounting within Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition over tougher laws to battle terrorism, with differences brought into stark relief by the recent arrest of three suspected al-Qaida-linked extremists.

Germany on high alert after bin Laden death

Mon, 02 May 2011 10:05:00 +0200

The United States embassy as well as American military bases in Germany are on high alert to the risk of terrorists reprisals after President Barack Obama announced late Sunday that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Al-Qaida suspects were 'testing shrapnel bomb'

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:49:00 +0200

German authorities say the three suspected al-Qaida terrorists arrested on Friday were experimenting with building a shrapnel bomb designed to hurt as many people as possible in an attack.

Al-Qaida suspects seized with explosives

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:54:00 +0200

German police on Friday detained three alleged members of al-Qaida, federal prosecutors said, as a report said they had been plotting attacks in Germany.