Europe News

German terror suspect speaks of duty to kill German soldiers

Aug 19, 2009, 10:41 GMT

Dusseldorf - A man on trial with a group of suspected militant Islamists described the armed fight against German soldiers in Afghanistan as a duty on Wednesday, in one of Germany's largest terrorism trials since the 1970s.

Adem Yilmaz said it didn't matter whether the soldiers were American, German or Turkish. 'For me they are all the same,' said Yilmaz, who is himself Turkish.

Asked by the Dusseldorf court whether he would return to fighting armed jihad (holy war) after serving his sentence, the 30-year-old said, 'I don't know yet.'

Yilmaz belongs to the so-called Sauerland Group with Fritz Gelowicz, Daniel Schneider and Attila Selek, who are all accused of planning attacks on US military bases in Germany in 2007.

'Allah gave us the right to fight against those people who are fighting us,' Yilmaz said, adding that many Muslims had been attacked in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The defendant also said he stood by an earlier statement that he wanted to kill as many non-believers as possible.

Yilmaz was the second member of the group, arrested after intense police surveillance, to offer an extensive confession in return for a reduced sentence.

The case is expected to yield unprecedented details of militant Islamist training and recruitment methods in Pakistan.

Having arrived in Germany in 1986, Yilmaz said he decided to join the armed 'holy war' in 2004. His initial target had been Iraq. He added that the Americans were the 'head of the team' fighting Islam.

Co-accused Daniel Schneider was also expected to testify on Wednesday.

Three of the four plotters were arrested in a holiday home in Germany's Sauerland region in September 2007. The fourth was later arrested in Turkey.