U.S. and German officials
fear terrorists are in the advanced planning stages of
an attack on U.S. military personnel or tourists in
Germany.
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Law enforcement
officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com that
U.S. air marshals have been diverted to provide
expanded protection of flights between Germany and
the United States.
"The information
behind the threat is very real," a senior U.S.
official told ABC News.
German Interior
Minister Wolfgang Schauble told reporters, "The
danger level is high. We are part of the global
threat by Islamist terrorism."
Of particular
concern, according to U.S. and German law
enforcement officials, is Patch Barracks, the
headquarters for U.S. European Command, near
Stuttgart. |
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German policemen stand guard in front of the U.S.
embassy in Berlin in this December 17, 1998 file
picture. The U.S. Embassy in Germany said on
Friday it was increasing security at its
facilities in the country in response to a
heightened threat situation. (REUTERS/Fabrizio
Bensch) |
Security at all U.S.
military and diplomatic facilities has been increased in
the last month following reports that suspected
terrorists had conducted surveillance of the Patch
Barracks facility.
"The attack would be
designed to create high numbers of casualties among both
Germans and the U.S. military," said ABC News consultant
Richard Clarke, a former White House counterterror
official.
The 9/11 hijackers
planned their operation out of Hamburg, Germany, and the
country continues to be known as a staging area for al
Qaeda and groups affiliated with it.
"There are 300 to 500
people who are suspected to be part of al Qaeda cells in
Germany," said Col. Andrew Pratt (Ret.) of the George
Marshall Center in Germany.
"In a democratic state
like Germany, you just can't go out and arbitrarily
arrest people because they are under suspicion," Pratt
said.
German officials have
called for enhanced police powers to keep suspected
terror groups in check.
Several radical Islamist
groups have threatened violence unless Germany withdraws
its troops from the NATO force in Afghanistan.
A radical Islamist group
in Iraq took a German woman and her adult son hostage in
February, threatening to execute them if Germany did not
pull its troops out of Afghanistan. The two are still
being held.
