Iraqi pair arrested for German train attacks
March 29, 2019
Two Iraqi terror suspects have been detained in Prague in connection with attempts last year to derail high-speed trains in Germany, Czech police said Thursday.
The man and woman were detained at Prague airport on an Austrian arrest warrant following the arrest on Monday in Vienna of a 42-year-old Iraqi and his wife.
Austrian Interior Minister Herbert Kickl said Thursday that the two suspects detained in Prague "formed a cell" with the man detained in Vienna.
The suspects are accused of placing steel wires across the tracks on the high-speed rail line between Nuremberg and Munich in October and in Berlin in December. Nobody was injured in the attempt to derail the trains.
The man detained in Vienna has admitted to carrying out the attacks, but has denied any terrorist motive.
Austrian authorities say an "Islamic State" flag and Arabic writings found near the scene of the attacks indicate a suspected terrorist motive.
cw/aw (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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