Police in Germany say that a foiled terrorist attack, the object of which was most probably supposed to be a bicycle race on 1 May in the Frankfurt area, had an Islamist background. Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported on the foiled attack on 2 May, citing the spokesperson for the Hesse State Criminal Police as their source.
Police completed their search of neighborhoods near the route of the race on 2 May. However, a search is still underway for an accomplice to a married couple who are the main suspects in the planned attack.
The Hesse Police arrested a 35-year-old German citizen of Turkish orgin and his Turkish wife (age 34) in the early morning hours of Thursday. They found a homemade tubular bomb, a disassembled assault rifle, 100 live rounds and a practice round for a bazooka in their home in Oberursel about 20 km from Frankfurt.
The couple, suspected of planning a serious violent crime against the state, are currently in custody. The arrested man allegedly maintained contacts with German Salafists who espouse radical Islam.
According to a 2 May communication from the state police, suspicions that the prepared attack was linked to Islamic extremism intensified after the suspect’s computer was searched. Police reportedly found violent videos with Islamist themes there.
The police are continuing to work on evaluating the information found in data storage devices and paper documents during the search. The traditional 1 May bicycle race was cancelled this year for security reasons.
Police completed their search of the neighborhood of the planned route for the race on 2 May. Reportedly they did not find any suspicious objects.
