Berlin Police Arrest 2 Terrorist Suspects, Foil Bomb Plot

German police officers enter an Islamic Cultural Association during a search operation in Berlin Wedding, Germany, 08 September 2011. Photo by BGNES

Berlin police have arrested two men on suspicion of acquiring chemicals for a planned bomb attack.

The two were captured on Thursday, following a raid on an Islamic cultural centre in the district of Wedding, according to a report of Berliner Morgenpost, as cited by DPA.

The main suspect, a 24-year-old German citizen of Lebanese descent, is alleged to have ordered agricultural chemicals that can be used to make bombs.

The second man, aged 28 and known to have arrived in Germany from the Gaza Strip, is suspected of being his accomplice, a police spokesman said.

According to the report on Berliner Morgenpost's website, the men had ordered chemical coolants and a type of acid - chemicals that would have enabled them to make a bomb. Police searched the premises of the cultural centre which includes a mosque, as well as the men's homes.

The two suspects reportedly paid regular visits to the Ar-Rahman mosque and occasionally spent the night there.

The police spokesperson confirmed that the arrests were part of a long-running investigation but refused to tell journalists whether the case was related to the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

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