Germany arrests al Qaeda suspect over bomb plot

Accused is suspected of being a member of the so-called Duesseldorf cell based around Abdeladim El-K says prosecutor.

BERLIN: German anti-terrorism police on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old man in the western city of Bochum suspected of links to a local al Qaeda cell and of planning an attack, the Federal Prosecutor said in a statement.

The man, a German citizen named as "Halil S", is believed to have been recruited by the suspected ring-leader of the cell who was arrested in April, and of having raised money for a planned attack by fraudulent use of the online auction site ebay.

A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said there were no signs of specific plans nor of actual targets, and he rejected a report in the online edition of Germany's Focus magazine that the suspect planned to attack a Christmas market.

German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said people had not been in danger, but that the case showed Germany and Europe remained a focus of Islamist militant plots.

"The accused is suspected of being a member of the so-called Duesseldorf cell based around Abdeladim El-K, and of being involved in attacks planned by the foreign terrorist group al Qaeda," the prosecutor said in a statement.

Abdeladim El-K, a Moroccan, is charged with planning a terror attack in Germany and of being a member of a foreign terror organisation.

Prosecutors say he attended an al Qaeda training camp in the Waziristan region of Pakistan near the Afghan border in 2010 and on his return to Germany attempted to build a network with an estimated seven to eight members.

"Investigations so far lead to the suspicion that Halil S. was recruited by Abdeladim El-K. for the planned attack... He was supposed to be responsible for securing the financial and logistical side of the attack," the prosecutor said.

Halil S. is believed to have continued plans despite the arrest of others in the Duesseldorf cell, to have faked identity papers and rented flats around the Ruhr area in western Germany.

Some 150 police officers on Friday searched 16 apartments and two businesses in northern and western Germany in connection with the case, the prosecutor added.

In 2000 German and French police prevented a New Year's Eve attack on a Christmas market in Strasbourg; 14 suspected members of al Qaeda were convicted for the plot in Germany and France.

European countries have grappled with militant threats for years, regularly arresting individuals or groups suspected of planning attacks some fear could mirror bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 which killed more than 200 people.

Berlin views Germany as a potential target because it has nearly 5,000 military personnel in Afghanistan, as part of the international force fighting the Taliban-led insurgency.