Al Qaeda op arrested in Lebanon after phoning threat to Germans

AP/News24:

Lebanese authorities warned of terrorist attacks on targets within Germany after arresting an al-Qaeda suspect in Beirut, prompting the Justice Ministry in Berlin increase security, authorities said on Saturday.

"There was a tip from Lebanon - a warning tip," said Stefanie Amft, a spokesperson for German federal police.

She gave no further details, except to say it was part of a global threat. "It is known that Germany is part of this worldwide threat," she said.

Germany was alerted after Lebanese authorities arrested a suspect on Thursday who was believed to have phoned a threat to the German Embassy in Beirut earlier in the week, a senior Beirut police official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation, said suspect Mohammed Naddoum was arrested after allegedly threatening to strike German security targets.

"Using special technology, the police were able to trace the man's location and identity and arrest him," the official said.

Naddoum confessed to making the call and having ties to al-Qaeda, the official said, adding that "investigations are still under way to confirm his affiliations and intentions".

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You mean he confessed before calling for the ACLU. What were those Germans and Lebanese doing intercepting his call and tracing it. Haven't they heard of terrorist privacy rights? Wait until the NY Times hears about this. Both the ACLU and the NY Times want to make sure that something like this will never happen in the US. The articles says that a Palestinian identified as Khodr al-Hinnawi was arrested too, after Naddoum repeatedly mentioned his name during interrogation. Apparently water boarding was not required.