Germany Races to Track Pair of Suicide Bombers

By DAVID CRAWFORD

   NOVEMBER 22, 2010

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BERLIN—Germany is bracing for a possible terrorist attack amid growing signs that Islamic extremists are preparing an assault somewhere in the country in the coming weeks.

Authorities in Berlin are racing to track two suspected suicide bombers believed to be planning to strike a prominent location in the German capital, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Police are combing through travel and visa records and scrutinizing arrivals from the Mideast and South Asia as they search for the pair, this person said.

Meanwhile, a second group of terrorists, is reported to be planning to travel to Germany in the coming weeks to launch a small-arms attack on one or more urban centers in the next three months, according to an official familiar with the matter.

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European Pressphoto Agency

A police officer stands guards outside the Chancellery in Berlin Sunday.

The threats have unnerved many Germans after government officials played down similar warnings from U.S. intelligence in recent months. Concerns of an imminent attack prompted a rare public warning Wednesday by Germany's interior ministry that terrorists plan to strike one or more crowded public locations in major German cities by the end of this month.

The warnings have put a damper on planned holiday festivities. Cities across Germany have begun opening their traditional Christmas markets, but many citizens are worried the fairs offer terrorists prime targets.

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her countrymen to remain calm in the face of the threats. Speaking to media during a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders in Lisbon over the weekend, she said German security officials are "doing everything" possible to protect people in Germany.

Authorities believe the two prospective suicide bombers they are searching for in Berlin arrived in the German capital about six weeks ago from the Waziristan region of Pakistan, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The suspects are trying to avoid detection by wearing Western clothes, avoiding mosques and changing their hideouts regularly, according the people. Authorities believe the two men are waiting for a shipment of bomb detonators that may be transported from Turkey to Berlin by unwitting friends or relatives.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday that police fear the attack involving bombs and small arms could be aimed at the German parliament building, known as the Reichstag. A senior intelligence official said the Reichstag hasn't been specifically named as a terrorist target, although it fits the outlines of the alleged terrorist goal of attacking an "important office."

A temporary fence was erected around the historic building last week as a precaution, a spokesman for the German parliament said.

German authorities also have received indications that a second group of terrorists is planning to travel from Waziristan via the United Arab Emirates to Germany in the coming weeks, according to a person briefed on the investigation.

The suspected terrorists are believed to be planning a small-arms attack on one or more urban centers in Germany by the end of February, this person said. The cities of Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich have been named as possible sites for an attack, the person said. The attack would be modeled on the 2008 attack in Mumbai, which killed more than 160 people.

This brings the number of suspected terrorist hit teams focusing on Germany or other European countries to at least three. For several weeks European police have been searching for a suspected terrorist known only as Mauritani, who they believe is planning an attack with six accomplices. A senior intelligence official said terrorists may be attempting to confuse counter-terrorist preparations by leading authorities to believe they are planning several attacks at once.

Authorities in Namibia, meanwhile, appeared closer to solving a mystery surrounding a fake suitcase bomb that nearly made it onto a flight bound for Germany earlier in the week.

Namibian police told their German counterparts Saturday the suitcase—which they said was designed by a U.S. company as a tool for testing the readiness of airport security personnel—was placed in the loading area by an airport security official. The official has been arrested, a spokesman for the German interior ministry wrote in an email response to questions.

It remained unclear why the official would have placed the suitcase in the luggage hall or what charges he faces. A spokesman for the Namibian Police Force couldn't be reached to comment.

Write to David Crawford at david.crawford@wsj.com

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