The arrests come a day after Danish police conducted raids and took eight young Muslims into custody whom they suspect of plotting a bomb attack and having links with al Qaeda. No direct link has yet been established between the two plots.<\/p>\n
Federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the three suspects had bought 700kg (1,500lbs) of hydrogen peroxide to make massive bombs. She said: “We have prevented what we believe would have been the worst terror attacks ever on German soil”.<\/p>\n
She declined to name specific targets but said the suspects had an eye on institutions and establishments frequented by Americans in Germany, including discos, pubs and airports.<\/p>\n
Citing unnamed security sources in Berlin, the broadcaster Suedwestfunk said Frankfurt International Airport and US Ramstein Air Base were among targets.<\/p>\n
Joerg Ziercke, the head of Germany’s federal crime office, said the men had a “profound hatred of US citizens”.<\/p>\n
German security sources have reportedly said the men belonged to the Islamic Jihad, an Egyptain terrorist group that merged with al Qaeda in 2001.<\/p>\n
Wolfgang Bosbach, an MP with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said the plot may have been timed to coincide with the anniversary of the 2001 atrocities in the US.<\/p>\n
Franz Josef Jung, the defence minister, said: “The attacks were planned for the near future. They presented a real threat to life.”<\/p>\n