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German Red Army Faction radicals 'bungled armed robbery' | German Red Army Faction radicals 'bungled armed robbery' |
(35 minutes later) | |
A botched armed robbery in north Germany last June was the work of three wanted militants from the far-left Red Army Faction (RAF), police say. | A botched armed robbery in north Germany last June was the work of three wanted militants from the far-left Red Army Faction (RAF), police say. |
The RAF, also called the Baader-Meinhof gang, killed more than 30 people in an anti-capitalist terror campaign in the 1970s and 80s. | The RAF, also called the Baader-Meinhof gang, killed more than 30 people in an anti-capitalist terror campaign in the 1970s and 80s. |
In 1998 an RAF declaration said the "urban guerrilla project" had ended. | In 1998 an RAF declaration said the "urban guerrilla project" had ended. |
Shots were fired at an armoured security van near Bremen last June, but the militants could not open its doors. | Shots were fired at an armoured security van near Bremen last June, but the militants could not open its doors. |
The three fled the scene - a supermarket car park in Gross Mackenstedt - in a Ford Focus, having failed to grab the cash that was inside the van. The two security men inside were unhurt, German broadcaster NDR said. | The three fled the scene - a supermarket car park in Gross Mackenstedt - in a Ford Focus, having failed to grab the cash that was inside the van. The two security men inside were unhurt, German broadcaster NDR said. |
Police have only now identified the robbers' DNA from fingerprints, naming the suspects as ex-RAF militants Ernst-Volker Staub, 58, Daniela Klette, aged 57, and Burkhard Garweg, whose age is unknown. | |
Experts on the RAF believe the militants may be running out of money as they get older, and that they are not staging robberies in order to finance a new urban guerrilla campaign. | |
Camouflage gear | |
According to investigators, the militants drove up to the security van in a VW van, which they then reversed into a wall, blocking the target vehicle. | According to investigators, the militants drove up to the security van in a VW van, which they then reversed into a wall, blocking the target vehicle. |
The three wore masks and camouflage gear. Video footage from surveillance cameras showed them armed with two Kalashnikov assault rifles and a grenade launcher. | The three wore masks and camouflage gear. Video footage from surveillance cameras showed them armed with two Kalashnikov assault rifles and a grenade launcher. |
At least three shots were fired - a bullet burst one of the van's tyres, another shattered the windscreen and a third was found embedded in the van's armour. | At least three shots were fired - a bullet burst one of the van's tyres, another shattered the windscreen and a third was found embedded in the van's armour. |
The Ford Focus getaway car was found abandoned a week later in woodland near Gross Ippener - about nine minutes' journey from the crime scene. | The Ford Focus getaway car was found abandoned a week later in woodland near Gross Ippener - about nine minutes' journey from the crime scene. |
NDR reports that DNA from Klette and Staub was also found after a similar armed robbery in Duisburg, in the Ruhr region of western Germany, in 1999. | NDR reports that DNA from Klette and Staub was also found after a similar armed robbery in Duisburg, in the Ruhr region of western Germany, in 1999. |
The RAF had links with radical Arab militants in the Middle East and targeted German bankers, businessmen, judges and US servicemen. | The RAF had links with radical Arab militants in the Middle East and targeted German bankers, businessmen, judges and US servicemen. |
The German criminal police - BKA - has put wanted notices on the internet for the three, offering rewards for information that leads to their capture. | The German criminal police - BKA - has put wanted notices on the internet for the three, offering rewards for information that leads to their capture. |