'Bomb' found on Germany-bound plane in Namibia, police say
A suspected bomb, complete with detonator and stopwatch, was discovered during a routine security check on luggage destined for a Germany-bound aeroplane in Namibia on Wednesday.
Photo: AP
By Aislinn Laing in Cape Town 3:58PM GMT 18 Nov 2010
The package was discovered in the terminal building of Windhoek International Airport shortly before it was due to be loaded onto an Air Berlin plane bound for Munich. A spokesman for Germany’s Federal Crime Office (BKA) said it was still unclear if the package could have been detonated.
On Wednesday, Germany upped its security threat level after being warned by an intelligence ally about a possible terrorist attack towards the end of the month. One German source said the package may have carried a label indicating it was a security test, though it was not clear who would have been responsible for carrying out this procedure.
The BKA said it dispatched officers in South Africa to Namibia, a former German colony, to aid in the investigation and planned to send further experts to examine the suspected bomb. “An X-ray (of the luggage) revealed batteries that were attached with wires to a detonator and a ticking clock,” it said in a statement. “Only the ongoing forensic investigation will show whether this was a live explosive.”
The flight’s 296 passengers and 10 crew were taken off the plane and asked to identify their bags and the aircraft was checked before it was given clearance to take off six hours late. The German government increased security measures at rail stations, airports and other public spaces this week following a tip-off from a “foreign partner” about an attack by Islamist extremists.
One newspaper, the Tagesspiegel, reported that the United States had told Berlin that between two and four Al-Qaeda operatives were on their way to Germany and Britain to attempt attacks, potentially on Germany’s popular Christmas markets. The paper added that the militants were expected to arrive in Germany on November 22 via India or the United Arab Emirates.
