Friend's tip led to German arrests
The couple shared a flat near Heidelberg
A chance remark led German police to arrest an American woman and her Turkish boyfriend on suspicion of planning an attack on the anniversary of 11 September, it has emerged.
Officials said 23-year-old Astrid Eyzaguirre, who has dual US-German nationality, had warned her friend to stay away from the American military base supermarket where they both worked in the coming days.
But her colleague went straight to US military police who alerted the German authorities.
Police then raided the flat Miss Eyzaguirre shared with her boyfriend, 25-year-old Osman Petmezci, near Heidelberg. They found five pipe bombs, 130kg (290lbs) of explosives, and pictures of Osama Bin Laden.
The authorities suspect the couple intended to mount a bomb attack against military installations and the city of Heidelberg - home to the US Army's European headquarters.
But Germany's Interior Ministry Otto Schily said on Saturday there was nothing to suggest that the pair were part of a wider terrorist network.
High alert
Local officials have described Mr Petmezci, who worked at a chemical factory in nearby Karlsruhe, as a strict Muslim who hates Americans and Jews.
The arrests have sparked intense media interest
They said he appeared to be a follower of Osama Bin Laden, and that his girlfriend had also expressed admiration for the elusive al-Qaeda leader.
However, their neighbours said they were a "normal and friendly" couple.
In addition to the explosive material found at their flat, Islamic literature and a book about building bombs were also discovered, according to Thomas Schaeuble, interior minister for the southwest German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, .
He said their attack was planned for 11 September, a year on from the terrorist strikes against New York and Washington.
The BBC's Rob Broomby says the German authorities have been on high alert in the run-up to the anniversary.
Germany took on a central role in the investigation into the attacks after it emerged that three of the hijackers, including suspected ringleader Mohammed Atta, lived in the northern German port city of Hamburg.
In August, German prosecutors also announced they had charged another suspect, Mounir al-Motassadek, with belonging to a terrorist group and being an accessory to murder.
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