Report: Al Qaida planning attack on German Reichstag

Group planning to take hostages, "perpetrate a bloodbath using firearms" according to 'Spiegel' report; Qaida reportedly working with Shi'ite group.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
German Reichstag Parliament 311 AP (photo credit: AP)
German Reichstag Parliament 311 AP
(photo credit: AP)
Al-Qaida and associated groups were believed to be planning an attack on the German parliament's seat - the Reichstag in Berlin, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.
According to the report, the groups planned to take hostages and "perpetrate a bloodbath" using firearms. The cell planning the attack was supposedly comprised of one German, a Turk, a man from North Africa and an unknown suspect.
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The attack was planned to take place in February or March. Authorities said that intelligence about the plot was behind Wednesday's announcement by the German Interior Ministry of an imminent attack, Spiegel reported.
The warning came from a jihaidst who wanted to leave his terrorist group. The man contacted a German law enforcement agency several times last week, according to the report.
Another warning came to the Germans via the FBI in the United States. The FBI allegedly told the Germans that a Shi'ite group from India has entered into a pact with al-Qaida and has sent two men to carry out an attack in Germany, Spiegel reported.
The domestic intelligence services in both Germany and the US (the BKA and FBI, respectively) were said to be very concerned by the reports, but the foreign intelligence services of the two powers (the BND and CIA) were said to be skeptical, according to the report.