Terror Suspects Arrested Aboard KLM Flight

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

BERLIN, Germany - Two terror suspects were arrested Friday morning aboard a KLM flight that was set to depart from Cologne en route to Amsterdam.  German officials boarded the plane just before its 7 AM takeoff and grabbed the two suspects.  The remaining passengers were then forced to exit the plane for a brief time so that all baggage could be identified and accounted for.

The suspects, a 23 year old Somali and a 24 year old German born in Somalia, were unarmed when they were taken and offered little resistance.  It is believed that the two men were scheduled for a brief stop in Amsterdam before continuing on to Uganda, which authorities believe was their final destination.

These arrests conclude an extensive surveillance operation by German authorities of the activities of these two individuals.  While German police officials would not disclose details of their investigation, they did report that these men had been tracked for some time before officials moved in.  Additionally, they reported that the suspects had left behind documents explaining their willingness to "wage jihad" and execute a terrorist attack, although the exact whereabouts of any potential attack are unknown. 

German officials openly acknowledge that they are troubled by these arrests because they represent yet another indicator that a terrorist attack may occur within Germany's borders.  It is true that Germany has thus far been effective in preventing terrorist attacks, although some believe that the threat is increasing.  The State Secretary of the German Interior Ministry August Hanning told reporters over the weekend that "We have noticed that they [terrorists] have become more active.  We fear that an Islamist group could in fact realize what they have announced, an attack here in Germany."

The German Federal Criminal Police also made a plea to the public this weekend for information leading to the capture of Eric Breininger, a German covert to Islam, and Hussein al-Malla, from Lebanon.  Both men are believed to have ties to terrorist groups and are on their way to Germany from a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. 

In this fashion, the arrests of these two men may be viewed as a signal to the German population of the need to be ever vigilant of the rising threat of terror occuring in Germany. 

For more information, please see:

CNN - German police seize terror suspects on KLM flight - 26 September 2008

International Herald Tribune - German police storm KLM jet to arrest 2 - 26 September 2008

Yahoo (AP) - German cops raid plane, arrest 2 terror suspects - 26 September 2008