German police arrested a third suspect today in connection with a failed attempt to blow up two trains, and Lebanese authorities picked up a fourth man as the investigation gathered steam, officials said. The man arrested in Germany, whose identity was not released, was detained in the southern city of Konstanz on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organisation, attempting to set off an explosion and multiple counts of attempted murder. | “The man ... was detained in the southern city of Konstanz on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organisation, attempting to set off an explosion and multiple counts of attempted murder...” |
After a nearly three-week lull following the attempted bombings, the case has moved quickly over recent days. El Hajdib was arrested on August 19, and Hamad was arrested in Lebanon yesterday. Lebanese Prosecutor-General Saeed Mirza said it was information from HamadÂ’s interrogation that led to the arrest of the fourth suspect, whose identity he gave only as 24-year-old H.K.D. The man is from the village of Sindianeh in the northern Lebanese province of Akkar, HamadÂ’s home province.
El Hajdib, 21, was a student who lived in the northern German city of Kiel, while Hamad, 20, lived in Cologne. The two are accused of planting the bombs at the Cologne train station. The detonators for the devices went off, but the bombs failed to explode and were discovered on regional trains in Koblenz and Dortmund.