RTThu, 27 Apr 2017 15:14 UTC
© Gregor Fischer / AFPHaving to watch her back? German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen.
A German Army officer arrested
on suspicion of plotting an attack had procured a firearm
and registered himself as a Syrian refugee, prosecutors said.
He may have attempted to put the blame for the possible assault on migrants, local media reported.
The arrest was accompanied by
searches at 16 locations across Germany, Austria, and France, according to the prosecutor's office.
The officer is stationed in France but was assigned to a military facility in Hammelburg for qualification courses, where he was arrested.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Nadia Niesen of the Hessen prosecutor's office said
the suspect also had a potential accomplice - a 24-year-old student who might have been involved in the alleged plot.
"It is understood that the accomplice was aware of the [prime suspect's plan] to register as an asylum seeker," she added.
On Wednesday, investigators secured valuable evidence during searches, including "numerous mobile phones, laptops as well as documents." Niesen also noted that firearms and ammunition had been found at the 24-year-old student's place of residence.
According to the prosecutor's office, the 28-year-old was
first detained by Austrian police when he attempted to conceal a 7.65mm pistol at a lavatory inside Vienna International Airport. The use of the weapon was part of his plot to commit "a serious act of violence" in the form of an attack, Niesen stated.
The 28-year-old officer in question
came to a migrant facility in the city of Giessen and was registered as a Syrian refugee in late December 2015, according to
Welt.
In January of last year, the officer, whose name has been withheld, applied for asylum in Bavaria and was allocated a room at a local refugee facility, according to Niesen.
German authorities granted him asylum even though he was unable to speak Arabic. His German background somehow went unnoticed as well, she admitted.
The official added that both men - the officer and the student - were in touch with each other, adding that analysis of phone and text message records revealed that they had a "xenophobic mindset." The official refused, however, to elaborate on the actual motives behind the potential attack plot, citing the ongoing investigation.
Last week, German police detained a suspect believed to be behind the bomb attack on the Borussia Dortmund football team.
The suspect, a man said to be a German-Russian citizen,
reportedly plotted the bombing to speculate on the club's shares if their price plummeted after the attack.
To mislead investigators,
the suspect had reportedly fabricated three identical letters saying the attack had been carried out "in the name of Allah." However, their wording and content made investigators suspicious.
The letters were "full of contradictions and inconsistencies," the federal prosecutor's office said, adding that "there is considerable doubt about radical Islamists [being involved in the attack]."
Comment: Western military officers running around Europe committing terrorist attacks against their own people and blaming it on the 'Muslim invaders'. Will wonders never cease...
Since the above report went out on April 27, RT has published the following update. Some key details have changed in the narrative:
German Defense Ministry probes possible far-right terrorist cell in Bundeswehr - media
2 May 2017Germany's defense minister has canceled a visit to the US to focus on the arrest of an army officer suspected of planning a racially motivated attack. Authorities believe the man was part of a network of up to five people, according to German media.
That sure sounds like a counter-insurgency terror cell. And the Defense Minister cancelling a trip to DC over it? It was clearly a big deal...
Ursula von der Leyen was scheduled to travel to New York and Washington DC on Wednesday and Thursday for meetings with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and UN officials.
However, she canceled the trip to focus on the arrest of a German army officer referred to as Franco A., who is suspected of planning a right-wing terrorist attack.
Ah, now it's a 'right-wing' terror attack, not a 'Muslim' terror attack.
Germany's chief federal prosecutor's office said on Tuesday there were "preliminary indications of preparations for a serious attack against the state."
The plot thickens further...
The 28-year-old officer was arrested in the German city of Hammelburg last week, on suspicion of hiding a gun in a bathroom at Schwechat airport in Vienna.
Ok, wait a second. The earlier (above) RT report on this said:
According to the prosecutor's office, the 28-year-old was first detained by Austrian police when he attempted to conceal a 7.65mm pistol at a lavatory inside Vienna International Airport.
Compare and contrast: we're now told he was only arrested
once.
Investigators later discovered he had used a fake identity to successfully register as a Syrian refugee, despite not speaking any Arabic, raising concerns that he was attempting to carry out an attack to frame refugees.
Defense Ministry officials have since found Nazi memorabilia, swastikas, and Nazi symbols at the barracks where Franco A. was stationed, according to various media reports.
They removed any mention of that in the updated report.
Bild has reported that police also found a "death list" allegedly compiled by the suspect, which included left-wing anti-fascist activists.
That too.
A 24-year-old student and alleged co-conspirator in possession of explosives was also arrested last week, with prosecutors saying that both men harbored "xenophobic views."
Mention of explosives was also removed.
However, the 24-year-old may not have been Franco A.'s only co-conspirator. Germany's Hannoveriche Allgemeine newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Defense Ministry now believes Franco A. was part of a network consisting of up to five people.
Meanwhile, Germany's Armed Forces Association (Bundeswehrverband) and political opponents have lashed out at von der Leyen after she told ZDF on Sunday that the country's army has an "attitude problem" and "clearly has a weakness of leadership on several levels."
"No one can understand how a defense minister can walk away from the match and criticize her own team, so to speak," Armed Forces Association spokesman André Wüstner told broadcaster MDR on Tuesday, describing the comments as "unbelievable."
Those thoughts were echoed by Rainer Arnold, defense policy spokesman for the Social Democrats (SPD), who demanded an apology from the defense minister.
"That she accuses the whole army of having an attitude problem leaves me speechless. Every honest soldier feels insulted," Arnold said, as quoted by the Local.
The investigation surrounding Franco A. has been handed over to the office of Germany's chief federal prosecutor, with a spokesman on Tuesday citing "preliminary indications of preparations for a serious attack against the state."
The German Defense Minister wouldn't cancel a meeting in DC with Mattis because her army has 'an attitude problem'. She would do so, however, if something pretty serious was going on.
Typically in these operations, the covert op guys just 'pull rank' when caught red-handed. And that's usually the end of the matter. So the fact that this particular plot is getting media attention means we could be looking at copy-cat maneuvers from lower-ranked military personnel who want to ape their heroes and are motivated to 'get Muzzy'.
See also:
'The State Cannot Convict Itself': Operation 'Gladio' & the Crimes of U.S. EmpireOperation Gladio: State-sponsored terror - 1992 BBC documentary
Comment: Western military officers running around Europe committing terrorist attacks against their own people and blaming it on the 'Muslim invaders'. Will wonders never cease...
Since the above report went out on April 27, RT has published the following update. Some key details have changed in the narrative: That sure sounds like a counter-insurgency terror cell. And the Defense Minister cancelling a trip to DC over it? It was clearly a big deal... Ah, now it's a 'right-wing' terror attack, not a 'Muslim' terror attack. The plot thickens further... Ok, wait a second. The earlier (above) RT report on this said: Compare and contrast: we're now told he was only arrested once. They removed any mention of that in the updated report. That too. Mention of explosives was also removed. The German Defense Minister wouldn't cancel a meeting in DC with Mattis because her army has 'an attitude problem'. She would do so, however, if something pretty serious was going on.
Typically in these operations, the covert op guys just 'pull rank' when caught red-handed. And that's usually the end of the matter. So the fact that this particular plot is getting media attention means we could be looking at copy-cat maneuvers from lower-ranked military personnel who want to ape their heroes and are motivated to 'get Muzzy'.
See also:
'The State Cannot Convict Itself': Operation 'Gladio' & the Crimes of U.S. Empire
Operation Gladio: State-sponsored terror - 1992 BBC documentary