Story perspectives

German police defuse 21 explosives tied to grid sabotage

9/7/2026

Summary

German Police Defuse Devices

German prosecutors in Saxony discovered 21 explosive devices linked to recent power-grid sabotage.
All 21 devices were safely defused by officials.
Police are searching for a man who mailed letters claiming responsibility for the sabotage.
The suspect remains at large after explosives were found at his home.

Summary

Dobrindt Calls Terrorism

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the sabotage likely “climate terrorism” targeting fossil-fuel power.
Police recovered explosives in the 48-year-old suspect’s Gevelsberg apartment during a raid.
A special-operations team seized a forest-parked truck in Niederzier that had been converted into a motorhome.
Earlier sabotage includes a January arson in Berlin that caused a major blackout.
Lignite continues to power plants in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Saxony despite the attacks.

History

Historical Context

On 19 October 1998 the leaderless Earth Liberation Front burned Vail Ski Resort in Colorado, destroying five buildings and four lifts and costing roughly $12 million. The FBI’s Operation Backfire later secured guilty pleas from activists Chelsea Gerlach and Stanislas Meyerhoff in 2006. Today German prosecutors accuse a 48-year-old suspect of planting 21 explosives against fossil-fuel power grids, illustrating the lasting security impact of eco-sabotage.

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German Police Defuse Devices

German prosecutors in Saxony discovered 21 explosive devices linked to recent power-grid sabotage.
All 21 devices were safely defused by officials.
Police are searching for a man who mailed letters claiming responsibility for the sabotage.
The suspect remains at large after explosives were found at his home.

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