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Germany Foils Plot to Plant a Bomb on Passenger Jet

Six men suspected of belonging to a terrorist group, who allegedly planned to plant an explosive device on a passenger jet during the summers World Cup soccer championship. All of the men excluding one have been released the next day but German police said they are investigating more suspects, who are believed to have attempted to bribe an employee from the Frankfurt Airport staff.

The prominent German newspaper Die Welt reported the conspirators were of Middle Eastern origin and that their target has been an Israeli, El Al passenger jet. The plot seems to have been halted in early stages over disagreement on how much the group should pay the Frankfurt Airport employee. Frankfurt is the third busiest airport in Europe.

Rolf Tophoyen, a German terrorism export says: ?This is a new tactical development, because they tried to infiltrate the security infrastructure by hiring a person who had access to the airfield and aircraft,? Mr. Tophoven added. ?You can protect an airfield with electronic fences and X-rays, but you can?t protect against human weakness.? Germany has been on edge since two bombs were placed on trains near Cologne failed to detonate. A Lebanese student arrested said his motivation was anger about the Danish cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohammed. Airport security in Europe has been drastically increased since the British police foiled a plot to carry liquid explosives on a plane headed towards the US. 72 Muslim workers in Paris`s Charles de Gaulle Airport because of concerns that they held ties with extremist groups.