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Germany Seeks Terror Cell
Kiel, Germany: A 21 year old Lebanese student has been arrested and charged with trying to blow up two regional trains.
"Youssef Mohammed E H" is accused of attempted murder, belonging to a terrorist group and conspiracy to cause an explosion. German authorities claim DNA samples and fingerprints tie the suspect to the bombs. Two "suitcase bombs" were found on trains in Dortmund and Koblenz on July 31. Investigators claim that the bomb design lacked the sophistication of devices that caused such horror in the 2004 Madrid bombs - a definite inspiration for the German plot - but could have caused "a disaster" nonetheless.
Another man is being hunted by police, while the BBC reports that the two are thought to belong to a larger terror group "intent on carrying out serious acts of violence in Germany."
Germany is reeling with the shock of the discovery, and doubtless the relief that a Madrid-style massacre, when nearly 200 people died, was averted. The Times reports that security in stations and airports has been stepped up, but there is a weary acceptance that now the threat of large-scale terror has manifested within Germany's borders, security forces are outnumbered by potential targets.
Germany's interior minister has described the threat as "extremely serious."
