BERLIN - Three suspected Islamic militants were arrested on allegations of plotting attacks on the U.S. military base in Ramstein and Frankfurt’s international airport, German authorities said Wednesday.
“There was an imminent threat,” German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung told Germany’s ARD broadcaster.
Jung told ARD broadcaster the three men were suspected of targeting the airport and base, while prosecutors said only that they had arrested three suspected members of “an Islamic-motivated terrorist organization.”
The Sudwestrundfunk public broadcaster reported that two suspects had German citizenship while the third was Pakistani. It also said the men were arrested Tuesday evening and were close to carrying out the attacks.
Major transport hub for U.S. military
Thousands of U.S. servicemen and women are stationed with their families in Germany, which hosts key installations including the Ramstein Air Base, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and Grafenwoehr training center in Bavaria.
The Ramstein base is in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate and serves as a major transport hub for the U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frankfurt’s international airport is one of continental Europe’s busiest.
German and U.S. officials have warned of the possibility of a terrorist attack, and security measures have been raised, they said.
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