German police seize weapons and chemicals in anti-terror raid

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/german-police-seize-weapons-and-chemicals-in-anti-terror-raid

Version 0 of 1.

German police have recovered a pipe bomb, an assault rifle and chemicals that can be used to make explosives after two suspects were detained in an overnight anti-terror raid near Frankfurt.

A state interior minister said on Thursday the arrests foiled a possible terrorist attack and the suspects were linked to Islamists, the German press agency DPA reported.

The raid in the town of Oberursel came after security officials learned that three litres of hydrogen peroxide had been purchased at a hardware store by someone using a false name.

“This hydrogen peroxide triggered an alert,” Frankfurt’s deputy chief prosecutor, Stefan Rojczyk, told the Associated Press. “Police figured out who had bought it and it was decided to act fast.”

In addition to the hydrogen peroxide, pipe bomb and rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition were recovered.

Hesse state interior minister Peter Beuth identified the suspects as a married couple, saying in state parliament that the raid foiled a possible terrorist attack, DPA reported. He added the two were believed to have links to an extreme Islamic Salafist movement.

Heavily armed police wearing masks were involved in the raid, and forensic officers in white suits entered the property and later carried out evidence.

Hydrogen peroxide has been used by Islamists to build improvised explosive devices in the past, including Richard Reid, who tried to detonate a bomb in his shoe during a transtlantic flight.

“Three litres is completely unusual,” said Rojczyk. “You can use it to clear algae from your pond, but you can also use it to build bombs.”

He said a man and a woman were detained, but could not confirm German media reports the two had links to Islamists.

“He [the man detained] is a chemistry student,” Rojczyk said. “We are of course still trying to determine what was going on. We have the devices, we have the owners of these devices, but now we need to find out what was planned. Everything is being evaluated and this may take some time.”