Islamists believed to be behind Bonn railway bomb plot

PanARMENIAN.Net - German authorities suspect Islamist extremists were responsible for planting an explosive device Monday, Dec 10, beside a track at the main railway station in Bonn, CNN reported citing a German intelligence official.

The explosives were found after a 14-year-old reported the bag to police, according to the official, who said the device was "not sophisticated" in design.

The official said whoever left the bag remains at large. Initially, German police arrested two Bonn residents soon after recovering the explosive components, the official said. The official identified them as Omar D., who's long been on German security services' radar because of his alleged links to Islamist extremists, and Abdifatah W.

Both, however, were released without charge after just a few hours in custody. The official said authorities have not ruled out Omar D. as a suspect but do not have enough evidence to hold him.

On Wednesday German police released a composite sketch of the suspected perpetrator based on a description from the 14-year-old. A German official said the sketch describes a tall, thin, dark-skinned man in his early 30s.

Several German newspapers Tuesday reported that German police had arrested a German citizen of Somali origin, identified as Omar D.

Yassin Musharbash, an investigative reporter at Die Zeit, said that security services had been aware of Omar D. for several years because he is believed to have links to Islamist extremists in the Bonn area.

It was not yet clear if the bombing attempt was merely the work of homegrown "amateurs" or had connections to overseas terrorist groups.