Germany Hunts for Pair of Suicide Bombers

From vague warning to a more detailed threat: German authorities are on the hunt for two suspected suicide bombers who are thought to have arrived in Berlin from Pakistan’s Waziristan region some 6 weeks ago, hiding out and wearing Western clothes in an effort to avoid detection. Police are poring over travel and visa records in their race to track the pair, who they believe are awaiting a shipment of bomb detonators, possible transported from Turkey to unwitting friends or relatives.

They may be planning to target the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building, Der Spiegel reports; crowd barriers were erected around it as a precaution. The Wall Street Journal also reports that an official says another group of terrorists is planning a small-arms attack, which could echo the Mumbai attacks of 2008. There are now 3 suspected attack teams targeting European countries (the third being a suspected terrorist known as Mauritani), but an intelligence official said the number of apparent threats may be meant to confuse authorities. (More Germany stories.)