-News for Wed. 17 April to Fri. 19
April 2002 Germany Warns US, British, Jewish Sites at Risk of
Attack
VOA
News 19
Apr 2002 16:47 UTC

In the aftermath of
the Tunisian synagogue explosion, Germany's federal crime agency warns that
U.S., British, Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany are at risk of
attack.
The statement Friday
by the BKA federal crime agency in Wiesbaden came after Chancellor Schroeder's
government was criticized by the opposition for failing to warn tourists they
could be a target for Islamic fundamentalist attacks.
Eleven Germans were
among the 17 people killed last week when a tanker truck exploded near a
synagogue on the island of Djerba. German Interior Minister Otto Schily is to
visit the site of the deadly blast when he travels to Tunisia on Sunday and
Monday. Top law enforcement officials will be traveling with him. Mr. Schily is
to meet with Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to discuss the
investigation. The Tunisian government had originally said the blast was an
accident.
Mr. Schily told
German television that prosecutors have witnesses, material evidence and
telephone taps to support claims that the incident was not an
accident.
German investigators
are looking into a possible al-Qaida link to the explosion. German authorities
briefly detained a German man on Tuesday, identified only as "Christian G.",
who allegedly spoke to the driver of the fuel truck by telephone just an hour
before the blast. German media report that police found the telephone number of
a wanted man with links to the Hamburg al-Qaida cell in "Christian G's"
apartment. Members of the Hamburg cell, including Mohammed Atta, helped to plan
and carry out the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United
States.
Some information
for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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