Jammed pistol 'saved lives' in airport attack

The pistol used to kill two American airmen at Frankfurt airport jammed with six rounds left, possibly saving the lives of other US troops, a German investigator said yesterday.

Two other US Air Force personnel were wounded in the attack on Wednesday. Arid Uka, 21, an ethnic Albanian from Kosovo, living in Germany, has been charged with two counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

He allegedly told authorities he had taken the pistol and two knives to the airport to kill Americans "as revenge for the American mission in Afghanistan". When Mr Uka saw the busload of 16 airmen, he approached one standing outside and asked if they were on their way to Afghanistan, prosecutor Rainer Griesbaum said.

"When he said 'yes', he shot the 25-year-old serviceman from behind in the head," Mr Griesbaum claimed. Mr Uka then stormed on to the bus and shot the driver in the head, killing him. After wounding two others, he tried to shoot another man, Mr Griesbaum said. "He pointed his pistol at his head and pulled the trigger twice, but it jammed."