A Turkish man and his American fiancee who were arrested for allegedly plotting to attack US military bases on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, do not appear to be associated with a terrorist organization, Germany's interior minister said yesterday.
German police arrested the pair on Thursday, following a tip by US authorities. They found 130kg of chemicals and five pipe bombs along with a picture of Osama bin Laden in the couple's apartment near Heidelberg, home to the US Army's Europe headquarters, officials for Baden-Wuerttemberg state told reporters.
State authorities are investigating the couple, focusing on whether they were acting alone or were part of a network, but Interior Minister Otto Schily indicated yesterday they had no information pointing to a larger terror group.
"Based on what we know so far, we are dealing with an individual who has shown no indication of participation in a terrorist network," Interior Minister Otto Schily told Antenne Bayern radio.
Federal investigators are also looking into the case, considering whether they would take it over.
Investigators have identified the couple as Osman Petmezci, 25, and Astrid Eyzaguirre, 23, although neighbors in the town of Walldorf, 10km south of Heidelberg, said they knew the woman as Adriana.
Petmezci was reportedly a strict Muslim "who hates Americans and Jews," Schaeuble said Friday, adding that Eyzaguirre also indicated a hatred for Jews.
Their occupations would have given both the access necessary to carry out the planned attack, Schaeuble indicated. The man worked in a chemical warehouse in nearby Karlsruhe. The woman worked in an on-post military store in Heidelberg, where some 16,000 American soldiers, family members and civilian workers are stationed.
The weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported yesterday that Eyzaguirre had expressed admiration for Osama bin Laden to a friend, and that she had warned her to stay away from the post shopping facilities in the coming days. The friend reported the warning to US military police.
US Army Europe spokesman Sandy Goss said he had no details about a possible target.
"All I know is there were two people arrested and we're monitoring the situation closely because we take all these reports seriously," Goss said.
Earlier this week, Schily said German authorities had no information on planned attacks around the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and that 500 tips indicating potential threats since last year's attacks were not well-founded.
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