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German Red Army Faction radicals 'bungled armed robbery' | German Red Army Faction radicals 'bungled armed robbery' |
(about 1 hour 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 estimated €1m (£770,000; $1.1m) in 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. | 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 not that they are staging robberies in order to finance a new urban guerrilla campaign. | Experts on the RAF believe the militants may be running out of money as they get older, and not that they are staging robberies in order to finance a new urban guerrilla campaign. |
The trio are also being linked to a failed robbery in Wolfsburg last month. | |
Who were Germany's Red Army Faction? | Who were Germany's Red Army Faction? |
Born from the radical student movement of the late 1960s, the RAF comprised mainly middle-class youngsters who saw themselves as fighting the West German capitalist establishment. | Born from the radical student movement of the late 1960s, the RAF comprised mainly middle-class youngsters who saw themselves as fighting the West German capitalist establishment. |
They had links with radical Arab militants in the Middle East and targeted German bankers, businessmen, judges and US servicemen. | |
At the peak of the group's popularity, around a quarter of young West Germans expressed some sympathy for the militants. | At the peak of the group's popularity, around a quarter of young West Germans expressed some sympathy for the militants. |
Their critics denounced them as murderous nihilists - desperate for a cause but with no real political goals. | Their critics denounced them as murderous nihilists - desperate for a cause but with no real political goals. |
Red Army Faction: Germany's most infamous far-left guerrilla group | Red Army Faction: Germany's most infamous far-left guerrilla group |
Camouflage gear | Camouflage gear |
According to investigators, the militants drove up to the security van last June 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. |
The June raid near Bremen is now being linked to two other attacks, one in late December and another dating back 17 years. | |
DNA from two of the three militants, Klette and Staub, was apparently found after an armed robbery in Duisburg, in the Ruhr region of western Germany, in 1999. | |
On that occasion the robbers made off with 1m German marks (approximately €500,000). | |
'Making ends meet' | |
Last month three masked attackers armed with automatic weapons and a grenade launcher threatened another armoured van carrying cash in Nordsteimke near Wolfsburg. | |
There were obvious similarities with the raid last summer, some 200 km (125 miles) to the north-west. | |
Again they targeted a van leaving a supermarket with the day's takings. Again they fled empty-handed when the van's driver drove off. | |
State prosecutor Lutz Gaebel said on Tuesday that latest DNA test results meant that police "have to assume there's a link" with the bungled raid last summer. | |
His verdict was there was "no indication of terrorist activities" but rather that the gang were looking for money to make ends meet. | |
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. |