Syrian fuses used in German bomb plot against US

Scotsman:

FUSES intended for use in a suspected plot to bomb US installations in Germany came from Syria through Turkey, the German interior minister said yesterday.

Wolfgang Schaeuble said the three suspects had received an order from Pakistan to act by mid-September.

German security officials were also monitoring three men who had trained in a Pakistan camp for militants, but lacked the evidence to arrest them, Mr Schaeuble said.

The threat from the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad Union, which claimed responsibility for the plot, has not been eliminated, he said. US installations remained a potential target.

Mr Schaeuble was in Washington for security talks with Bush administration officials and congressional leaders.

"We know that fuses for these bombs ... came from Syria via Turkey to Germany," he said. "We know there are connections. We know that there is a clear network. The demand came from Pakistan (that) it's time to take action in the first half of September," he said.

...

The Germans are seeing the downside of the lawfare approach on the three they do not have enough evidence to arrest even though they know they went through terror training in Pakistan. The Syrian connection should also be examined to determine who sold the fuses. The Syrians should be required to cooperate are suffer the consequences of being a state sponsor of terrorism.