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Four convicted over German plot Four jailed for German bomb plot
(about 1 hour later)
Four Islamists have been convicted by a court in Germany of plotting to attack US targets in the country. Four Islamists have been convicted by a court in Germany of plotting to attack US facilities in the country.
The men, two of whom were German-born converts to Islam, were given prison sentences of between five and 12 years.The men, two of whom were German-born converts to Islam, were given prison sentences of between five and 12 years.
A court in Duesseldorf heard they had planned to kill US diplomats, soldiers and civilians by bombing targets like the US Air Force's Ramstein base. The judge said they had dreamed of "mounting a second September 11 2001" by killing US civilians and soldiers by bombing targets like Ramstein Air Base.
They were accused of operating as a German cell of the radical al-Qaeda-linked group, Islamic Jihad Union.They were accused of operating as a German cell of the radical al-Qaeda-linked group, Islamic Jihad Union.
Two German converts to Islam, Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, were sentenced to 12 years in jail. The two German converts to Islam, Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, were sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Adem Yilmaz, a Turkish citizen, was given 11 years, while Atilla Selek, a German of Turkish origin, was given five years.Adem Yilmaz, a Turkish citizen, was given 11 years, while Atilla Selek, a German of Turkish origin, was given five years.
The 10-month trial has been described as one of Germany's biggest terrorism cases. During the 10-month trial, all four admitted to belonging to a terrorist organisation, plotting murder and conspiring to use explosives.
Judge Ottmar Breidling said that the four men had dreamed of "mounting a second 11 September 2001". If the accused had managed to do what they planned, it would have led to a monstrous bloodbath, primarily among US army personnel and also civilians Judge Ottmar Breidling
Schneider also admitted to attempted murder for grabbing the handgun from a police officer while attempting to evade capture and firing a shot.
He, Gelowicz and Selek renounced extremism and described their actions as a "mistake".
Announcing the verdict, Judge Ottmar Breidling said the men had dreamed of "mounting a second 11 September 2001".
"If the accused had managed to do what they planned, it would have led to a monstrous bloodbath, primarily among US army personnel and also civilians," he added."If the accused had managed to do what they planned, it would have led to a monstrous bloodbath, primarily among US army personnel and also civilians," he added.
The judge added that there were now "many impressionable young men and men who have already been led astray, ready to kill for notions of jihad".
"Violent Islamism has penetrated our society and turned young men against it."
'Profound hatred'
Known as the "Sauerland group", after the area of western Germany where they were caught, all four men had trained at camps in Pakistan and procured some 700kg (1,500lbs) of chemicals to produce 410kg (900lbs) of explosives, prosecutors told the court.
Such a quantity would have been 100 times the amount used in the 2005 London bombings, which killed more than 50 people, they added.
They allegedly planned to use vehicles loaded with the explosives to kill or injure large numbers of people at locations visited by Americans, the US military base in Ramstein and Frankfurt airport.
The men had been under surveillance for nine months, but the authorities decided to act when it became clear they were planning to move their huge stores of hydrogen peroxide.
They were described at the time of their arrest as "very dangerous terrorists" with a "profound hatred of US citizens", acting on the orders of an "international network".
Germany, which has soldiers in Afghanistan as part of Nato but did not send troops to Iraq, has been largely spared militant attacks. However, the authorities have become increasingly concerned.
Six years ago, the city of Hamburg was thrust into the spotlight after it emerged a cell had used it as a base for planning the 11 September attacks.