Alleged terrorist group targeted German politicians

Sep 1, 2009, 14:33 GMT

Dusseldorf - A group of militant Islamists on trial over planned terrorist attacks in Germany was initially due to target German politicians, co-accused Fritz Gelowicz told a Dusseldorf court on Tuesday.

'It would have been a legitimate jihad (holy war) if German politicians who sent soldiers to Afghanistan had been hit,' said Gelowicz, in one of Germany's biggest terrorism trials since the 1970s.

The four accused members of the so-called Sauerland Cell were allegedly acting under the auspices of the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), often described as a successor to al-Qaeda.

While the IJU-leader - referred to as 'Achmed' - had not given a specific order, he had 'wished' for the group to launch attacks on politicians, Gelowicz said.

The defendant added that they had ultimately given up on this target, which struck them as being too laborious.

The four members of the Sauerland Cell are charged with the preparation of attacks on US interests in Germany. The 2007 attacks were to come ahead of a German parliamentary decision over the country's continued military presence in Afghanistan.

The group of four were apprehended by German special forces after long surveillance, as they were preparing some 730 litres of hydrogen peroxide liquid explosives. Just weeks earlier, the IJU had sent emails pressuring the group to act soon.

Alongside the alleged group leader Gelowicz, Adem Yilmaz and Daniel Schneider have all confessed to being members of the IJU, a terrorist group with roots in Uzbekistan.

Schneider told the court it was a great honour to swear allegiance to the IJU and said, 'It is as though somebody offers for you to join the Rotary Club.'

The fourth member of the Sauerland Cell is German-Turkish national Attila Selek, who was arrested in Turkey where had acquired the fuses for the planned bombs.

Schneider said it was a coincidence that the group came across the IJU, in whose camps they were subsequently trained in the Afghan- Pakistani border region.

'We could have ended up with a different group,' Schneider said, adding that they only found out about the IJU's background during their training.

IJU-leader 'Achmed' had given Gelowicz and Yilmaz their task at a terrorist training camp in Waziristan, while Schneider was later informed of the plans in Germany, the court heard.

In a separate trial against alleged IJU members in Frankfurt, defendant Omid S. admitted to having contacts to the Sauerland Cell.

The 28-year-old said he had given Yilmaz his credit card and secret PIN number before leaving for a terrorist training camp, adding that Yilmaz should use the money on the account 'for Islam.'