Fourteen arrested in Germany and Denmark over terror plot

‘We found things that can be used to make a bomb’

Chemicals and fuses were discovered (presse-fotos.dk/AFP via Getty Im)

Fourteen people have been arrested in Denmark and Germany on suspicion of preparing one or several attacks in the two countries, Danish police said.

Officers added that the discovery of a so-called Isis group flag could indicate the suspects "have a connection or sympathy with the terror organisation".

Flemming Drejer, operative head of Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service, said the findings were "worrying" but "it is our assessment that there was no imminent danger".

He said the first seven people arrested in Denmark had acquired weapons and "we found things that can be used to make a bomb". He added that police found shotguns and a rifle with a scope, as well as the flag, but he could not give further details about the Denmark case or its links to Germany.

"We are now in the initial phase of the investigation and we need to keep our cards close to the chest," Mr Dreyer said.

All but one of the 14 arrests took place in Denmark. Three of the suspects are Syrian nationals, aged 33, 36 and 40, who were arrested last weekend, according to German officials.

Authorities announced eight arrests on Thursday, and police said another six were detained on Friday.

The detention hearings in Denmark were held behind so-called double-closed doors, meaning the case is shrouded in secrecy and few details are made public. Officials did not identify the suspects.

Denmark's security service, known by its Danish acronym PET, said on Thursday that the first seven people arrested in Denmark were suspected "of having acquired ingredients and components for the manufacture of explosives, as well as weapons, or having participated in this".

They are suspected of "having planned one or more terrorist attacks or participated in attempted terrorism".

German authorities had earlier announced the first three arrests, two in Denmark and one in Germany. They said the suspects were alleged to have purchased several kilograms of chemicals in January that could be used to manufacture explosives.

A search of a residence in the German city of Dessau-Rosslau turned up 10kg of black powder and fuses, the German prosecutor said. More chemicals were seized in Denmark.

AP