Berlin, Feb 01: German authorities today said they are investigating reports that a man suspected of planning terror attacks on the Israeli and US embassies in Berlin was arrested in the Czech Republic.
The ``young Palestinian'' was arrested on Tuesday in the
transit area of Prague's international airport en route to
Berlin on forged identity papers, telling investigators he was
a member of the militant groups Islamic jihad and hamas.
Israeli intelligence have alerted German authorities that
a suspected attack plotter was headed to Berlin via eastern
Europe, and investigators believe the arrested man is that
suspect, the magazine said, citing unidentified sources close
to Germany's federal anti-crime agency.
A spokesman for the agency, the federal criminal office,
said today that it has been informed of an arrest in Prague.
``We are in contact with Czech authorities and trying to
obtain further information about the man's identity and his
travel route,'' spokesman Dirk Buechner said.
He refused to comment on details of the focus report.
The magazine said the Israeli alert was the reason for
an increase in security at the US and Israeli embassies and
several other US offices this week, the magazine said.
Police said on Wednesday that they tightened security at the
two embassies in Berlin after receiving a tip from
unidentified foreign intelligence services about the
possibility of an attack. The US embassy's consular section in
Berlin and two other US offices in Germany were closed in
response to the warning.
Bureau Report
