GERMANY: German anti-terrorist police say they foiled a possible assassination attempt on Iraqi Prime Minister Mr Iyad Allawi during his visit to Berlin yesterday. From Derek Scally in Berlin
As Mr Allawi was greeted by Chancellor Schröder outside Berlin's Chancellery, Germany's chief state prosecutor revealed how police arrested three alleged members of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist organisation just hours before.
"There were increasing indications an attack was being planned," said Mr Kay Nehm, Germany's chief federal prosecutor. He told journalists that authorities had spent the last months monitoring the men's movements and phone calls.
"Differing movements and comments made during telephone calls ... indicate there were plans to target the Prime Minister." Ahead of Mr Allawi's arrival, authorities noticed a "particularly hectic nature of the calls", and suspected that three of the men under surveillance were planning to carry out an "ad-hoc" attack during the visit.
Early yesterday morning, special commandoes swooped on nine apartments in Berlin, Stuttgart and Augsburg and arrested the three men.
"You can take it from our actions that we saw a considerable danger," said Mr Nehm.
He identified the men as Iraqi nationals but declined to give other details.
Nothing was found in the apartments that could have been used in an attack, he said.
The three will appear before a judge in the federal court in Karlsruhe, charged with membership of Ansar al-Islam.
Mr Allawi's trip to Berlin was curtailed for "security reasons".