LEAD: Letter bomb sent to chief of German bank was primed

Dec 8, 2011, 15:19 GMT

Frankfurt - A letter bomb mailed to Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank, was primed to cause burns to his hands and face, German police said Thursday, a day after the device was intercepted before it could detonate.

Mail staff at Deutsche Bank became suspicious Wednesday when they noticed an odd A5-sized envelope. An X-ray scanner showed it contained wires and metal parts and the police was called in. The letter was personally addressed to the head of Germany's biggest bank.

A Frankfurt police spokesman, Udo Buehler, said it contained an incendiary powder, not an explosive, and would have detonated if it had been opened. He described it as a 'very dangerous bomb.'

Swiss-born Ackermann, 63, has been in charge of the bank for more than nine years and is coming up to retirement. The bank's chief executive is traditionally a bogey figure to German leftists.

Police said scientists were still checking what the powder was.

'It wasn't a military or industrial explosive,' said the spokesman.

Police said they had no clues yet about who sent the bomb, what the motive was, or whether more bombs might be in the mail system.

'We don't have evidence that bombs will be arriving somewhere else,' said Buehler. He declined to reveal the place where the letter was postmarked. He said scientists were still checking what the powder was.

'It wasn't a military or industrial explosive,' he said.