German police have released three British men whose conversation prompted an Easyjet pilot to make an emergency stop in Cologne. After examining their phones, authorities now believe "there was no actual threat."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
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Three British citizens, whose conversations on board an Easyjet flight prompted an unscheduled landing in Cologne, were released on Sunday after being detained and questioned for hours by German authorities.
EasyJet pilots landed a flight from the Slovenian capital Ljubljana at Cologne-Bonn airport at about 6:30 p.m. (1630 UTC) Saturday after crew members alerted them to suspicious conversations overheard by passengers.
German authorities questioned the men and examined their cell phones but found no evidence to indicate that they were planning an attack, Cologne police said in a statement.
"At the moment Cologne police believe there was no actual threat," the statement read.
Earlier, police told DW that three British nationals were detained in connection to reports that they engaged in discussions about "terrorist activities." The men - aged 31, 38 and 48 - were returning from a business trip in Slovenia.
According to police, a female passenger on the Saturday flight overheard a conversation in which the men discussed "terrorist content and alerted crew members. Authorities said they could not verify the content of the conversation, but they said that one of the men was carrying a book that had the word "kill" and a picture of a sniper on it.
Airport authorities said in a statement that the 151 passengers on board disembarked the plane using emergency slides and were taken to a transit gate where they were checked by police. Nine people received medical treatment after sustaining injuries during the evacuation.
DW's Rebecca Staudenmaier witnessed the remaining Easyjet passengers checking in to a London flight in the early afternoon at the Cologne-Bonn airport. It was still unclear, however, when the three detained men would travel on to London.
'Precaution'
Police also destroyed a backpack using controlled explosives. The luggage reportedly belonged to the 48-year-old suspect and was destroyed after officials found suspicious cables inside. The cables turned out be various charging cords and adapters, authorities said.
Easyjet confirmed "the decision was taken as a precaution to allow the aircraft to go through additional security checks in Cologne where the aircraft" was met by the police.
Take-offs and landings were suspended for three hours at the airport in Cologne, causing 10 flights to be diverted to other airports and delays to over a dozen more.
Chronology: Terror plots in Germany
Several times over the past 18 months, police have managed to thwart terror attacks and plots in Germany, which has clearly become a target for Islamic militants in Europe. The following made the headlines:
Image: Reuters/M. Rehle
Leipzig, October 2016
Police in Leipzig arrested 22-year-old Syrian refugee Jaber al-Bakr after a two-day manhunt following the discovery of explosives and other bomb-making equipment at his apartment in Chemnitz. He was suspected of plotting to attack a Berlin airport. Two days later, he hanged himself in his prison cell.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Willnow
Ansbach, July 2016
In July, the "Islamic State" (IS) claimed responsibility for two attacks carried out by asylum seekers. 15 people were injured in a crowded wine bar next to the entrance to a music festival in the Bavarian town of Ansbach after a rejected Syrian asylum seeker detonated an explosive device. The man killed himself in the attack.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/D. Karmann
Würzburg, July 2016
A 17-year-old asylum seeker wielding an axe and a knife went on a rampage on a regional train near Würzburg, seriously injuring four members of a tourist family from Hong Kong and a passer-by. The attacker was shot dead by police. German authorities said the teenager was believed to be a "lone wolf" inspired by the IS, but without being a member of the network.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Hildenbrand
Düsseldorf, May 2016
Three suspected members of the "Islamic State" terror network were arrested in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Baden Württemberg. Authorities say two of the men planned to blow themselves up in downtown Düsseldorf, while the other attacker and a fourth jihadist arrested in France planned to target pedestrians with guns and explosive devices.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hitij
Essen, April 2016
Police arrested three people over a bomb blast that injured three people in a Sikh temple in Essen. The bomb detonated after a wedding party, blowing out windows and destroying a part of the building's exterior. A 16-year-old suspect turned himself in after police showed footage of the attack from a surveillance camera and special police units arrested another young suspect in his parents' home.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kusch
Hanover, February 2016
German-Moroccan Safia S. is charged with stabbing a police officer at the main train station in the northern city of Hanover. The 16-year-old girl is suspected of having been "motivated by members of the Islamic State group in Syria to commit this act," chief prosecutor Simon Heinrichs said.
Image: Polizei
Berlin, February 2016
In separate raids across the country, police arrested three Algerians suspected of links to the "Islamic State" militant group and of having planned a terrorist attack in Berlin. The Berlin prosecutor's office said prosecutors were aware of a "concrete" plan to target the capital.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Oberursel, April 2015
The Eschborn-Frankfurt City loop bike race was called off after German police discovered it may have been the target of an Islamist terror attack. A 35-year-old German with a Turkish background and his 34-year-old wife were arrested on suspicion of planning the attack. Police found bomb-making materials in their home near the bike route.
