Terror arrests shows Germany should stay alert, says Merkel

Sep 10, 2011, 12:46 GMT

Berlin - The arrest this week of two Muslim men on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack in Germany shows that the country cannot afford to let its guard down, Chancellor Angela Merkel told a newspaper in comments released before their Sunday publication.

The two men were arrested Thursday in Berlin on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack, after police swooped in before the men could mix chemicals to make homemade explosives.

Chemicals merchants tipped off police that the main suspect, a 24-year-old German national of Lebanese extraction, had been trying to buy coolants and an acid used on farms. A 28-year-old whose family came from the Gaza Strip was arrested as a suspected accomplice.

According to Spiegel magazine, the two are believed to have ties to terrorist organizations in Afghanistan.

The younger man, it reported, was stopped from flying to Iran two years ago. From there, it is believed, he wanted to make his way to meet up with armed Afghan groups.

The magazine also reported that he had ties to people with their own connections to organized terrorism.

The older man, reported Spiegel, is under investigation for having received training at a terror camp in Hindukush and having contacts to a known people smuggler.

Terrorism 'continues to be a very real threat,' Merkel told Tagespiegel newspaper.