Germany arrests three suspected al Qaeda members
Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:01 GMT
* Men represented a "concrete and imminent danger" -minister
* Investigations had begun on April 15
(Adds statement from interior minister)
By Christiaan Hetzner
BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) - Germany said on Friday it had headed off "a concrete and imminent danger" from terrorism after police arrested three suspected members of al Qaeda.
The Bild newspaper quoted security sources as saying the three, all young Moroccans, were arrested in the towns of Duesseldorf and Bochum. Police also seized large amounts of explosives.
"We succeeded in preventing a concrete and imminent danger," Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement. "This proves that Germany continues to be in the crosshairs of international terrorists, and we need to remain vigilant."
Federal prosecutors and police have investigated the three since April 15 over alleged "membership in a terrorist organisation" and other charges.
"The accused will be summoned before the examining magistrate of the Federal Court of Justice on Saturday," the office of the Public Prosecutor General said in a statement.
No further information was given but a news conference was scheduled for 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Saturday in the federal prosecutor's headquarters in Karlsruhe.
Bild said federal police became suspicious after monitoring the three suspects' mobile phones and computer.
It said the large quantity of explosives recovered included acetone, a volatile substance popular with militants since it can pass easily through detectors usually designed to locate nitrogen-based compounds.
German television station ZDF reported that the three were all German nationals, one of whom was trained abroad, and had been arrested before they could finish building a bomb. (Editing by Myra MacDonald)
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