Firebombs
October 12, 2011
The German rail network came under attack a third time this week when three incendiary devices were found on tracks around the capital, Berlin.
Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer said the firebombs - each consisting of several bottles with flammable liquids - were being treated as acts of terrorism, with the likely culprits being left-wing extremists.
The Interior Ministry called the situation a "great worry," with a spokesman saying there were no indications "that left-wing extremists have now formed a leftist terrorist group."
He added, however, that authorities were being extra "vigilant."
The Federal Prosecutors' Office announced later Wednesday it was taking over the investigation from local authorities, conducting it on suspicion "of anti-constitutional sabotage."
Earlier in the day, one of the firebombs went off on tracks in the western area of Staaken in Berlin. Police spokesman Michael Gassen said the device caught fire but didn't explode. The other two devices failed to explode near train lines in Berlin's south and center.
Repeated attacks
On Tuesday, Berlin police found devices 900 meters north of Berlin's main train station building hours after several bottles of inflammable liquids were found in a railyard in southeastern Berlin.
The firebombs were hidden in cable ducts several hundred meters from a tunnel and close to the spot where seven bottles of inflammable liquid were found on Monday.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but an unknown left-wing extremist group, Hekla, said it had planned Monday's attack as a protest against Germany's military deployment in Afghanistan.
The arson attacks have led to huge travel delays as trains between Berlin, the northern city of Hamburg, the western city of Hanover and central city of Frankfurt were diverted.
Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich on Wednesday ordered the federal police to increase patrols of the railways around Berlin.
Author: Darren Mara, Wilhelmina Lyffyt (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler