Lebanese man charged with attempting to bomb German trains

The German government has warned that the country faces the threat of an imminent terrorist attack after judges formally charged a Lebanese student with attempting to blow up two trains. A second suspected bomber is still on the run.

The 21-year-old man, named as Youssef Mohamad E H, was arrested in Kiel on Saturday after police released video footage linking him to bombs planted on trains heading for Dortmund and Koblenz last month. Yesterday, ajudge charged Mr E H with conspiracy to carry out a terrorist attack and attempted murder.

State prosecutors said that Mr E H had enrolled as an electronics student at Kiel university last year. His fellow students described him as "completely normal", but they said he told them his brother was killed last month during an Israeli raid against Hizbollah in Lebanon.

Police said the student was caught in the early hours of the morning and appeared to have been attempting to flee Germany. There were unconfirmed reports that another explosive device had been found with him.

His suspected accomplice was still being sought by police, prompting the Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble to declare that Germany faced an "extremely serious" security alert. "The threat has never been so close. We have no idea how many of these people we are dealing with here," he said.

Prosecutors said they had evidence which suggested that the two bombers had not acted alone and that they appeared to be part of a group which was intent on carrying out serious acts of violence in Germany. "The danger is still out there," warned Jörg Ziercke, the head of Germany's Federal Criminal Office.

Investigators said Mr E H was identified with the help of surveillance cameras and DNA traces from one of the two suitcase bombs found in the Dortmund and Koblenz trains on 31 July. Both devices contained gas canisters and alarm clocks that were intended as detonators.

Investigators had initially surmised that the two bombs were part of a blackmail attempt or a hoax. Subsequent evidence revealed that the two bombs, designed to go off 10 minutes before the trains arrived at their destinations, could have resulted in "mass murder ". Police said they failed to go off because of a fault in their construction.