Author: Melissa Eddy
Publication: Google.com
Date: October 6, 2010
URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isVrwHYielnHBYr4EvvWIzuJ8I0gD9ILL0O81?docId=D9ILL0O81
Pakistani officials said Tuesday that eight
German militants were killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan's rugged
mountain border area, but German officials remained tight-lipped over the
incident.
The U.S. believes a cell of Germans and Britons
are at the heart of a terror plot against European cities - a plan they link
to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Germany's Foreign Ministry said it was investigating
the reports but that it was unable to comment further or provide any further
information.
Pakistani intelligence officials initially
said that the U.S. missile strike in Pakistan had killed five German militants
taking shelter in a house in the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan, a known
hub for foreign militants with links to al-Qaida. They later increased the
number to eight, but gave no reason for the discrepancy.
The terror cell said to be behind the Europe
plot - eight Germans and a Briton - were believed to have been in hiding in
the region. A second Briton was killed in a U.S. strike last month.
The U.S. missile strikes in Pakistan came
on the heels of a U.S. warning for Americans traveling in Europe to be on
alert for possible terror attacks, on suspicion that groups linked to al-Qaida
were plotting to target tourist magnets in European capitals. Japan also issued
a travel warning.
Germany's Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere,
however, insisted there was "no reason to be alarmist."
Konrad Freiberg, head of the German police
union, told the Passauer Neue Presse in its Tuesday edition the travel alerts
are to be taken seriously. He warned that ever more Germans are traveling
to Afghanistan and Pakistan for militant training, "and a large number
of them have returned and are living here."
British police used sniffer dogs to patrol
subways on Monday, while soldiers and mounted police were dispatched to two
major churches in Paris - Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur. French paramilitary
troops were also seen patrolling around the Eiffel Tower - which has been
evacuated twice in recent weeks for unspecified threats.
Also, police in southern France arrested 12
suspects in sweeps against suspected Islamic militant networks on Tuesday,
including three men linked to a network recruiting fighters for Afghanistan,
officials said. The roundups were part of two entirely different counterterrorism
cases under investigation by French judges, police said.
Associated Press Writers Jamey Keaten in Paris
and Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report.
