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Germany Pulls Two Suspected Terrorism Trainees From Plane
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On Thursday, federal prosecutors issued wanted posters and arrest warrants for Eric Breininger, 21, a German citizen and convert to Islam, and Houssain al-Malla, 23, a native of Lebanon.
Officials said they had evidence that the men had returned to Europe after attending camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Both men are suspected of involvement with a group called the Islamic Jihad Union, which was accused of planning attacks against U.S. targets in Germany a year ago.
Last week, German police arrested two other suspected members of that group. Omid Shirkhani, 27, a German citizen of Afghan descent, and Huseyin Ozgun, a 27-year-old Turkish national, were taken into custody Sept. 19 near Frankfurt.
Federal prosecutors said Shirkhani and Ozgun had traveled separately to Pakistan during 2007 to receive training at camps operated by the Islamic Jihad Union, which is allied with al-Qaeda.
Authorities said the two men may have been aware of plans by other accused members of the group to bomb U.S. targets in Germany a year ago, though they were not charged with playing a direct role.
Earlier this month, prosecutors filed an indictment against three suspected ringleaders of last year's plot and said the trio had discussed a number of possible bombing targets, including U.S. military bases in Germany.
Those three defendants were arrested Sept. 4, 2007, in the rural village of Oberschledorn as they allegedly transferred bombmaking chemicals from a rented house. Police said they had stockpiled more than 1,500 pounds of chemicals to make explosives and had smuggled detonators from Turkey.
