3 more arson attacks against Berlin railway

[October 12, 2011]  BERLIN (AP) -- Three more arson attacks have targeted Berlin's railway network, police said Wednesday. Two of the attacks were thwarted, while a third device caught fire but caused no injuries.

It brings the total of attempted arson attacks in and around Germany's capital to six since Monday.

A previously unknown leftist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in an online message.

One firebomb went off midday Wednesday on a train track in the western area of Staaken in Berlin, police spokesman Michael Gassen said. He said even though the device caught fire, it did not explode. He had no further details, saying only that the incident was under investigation.

Before that, only one attack succeeded and caused damage, bringing train traffic temporarily to a halt but causing no injuries. The other devices were defused by police experts.

Late Tuesday, railway workers found seven bottles filled with an explosive liquid in utility shafts near train tracks in the city's northeast, only hours after detecting another device near the city's central station.

A group calling itself the Hekla Reception Committee Initiative for more Eruptions in Society claimed responsibility, saying in an online posting it was targeting railway operations to protest Germany's roles in the Afghanistan war and as an arms exporter. The group's name is an apparent reference to Iceland's Hekla volcano.

Germany is a large contributor to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, with about 5,000 soldiers stationed in northern Afghanistan.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.