German Leipzig Airport Disrupted By Drone With Explosives Near Ammunition Cargo
Drone Incident and Security Concerns at Leipzig/Halle Airport
Discovery of Explosive-Laden Drone
FRANKFURT, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian cargo aircraft parked near an explosive-laden drone found at Germany's Leipzig/Halle airport on Tuesday night was carrying a payload of military ammunition, a group of news outlets including Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday.
Forensic experts found that the explosives attached to the drone were of a high military grade, said the joint report, which was also carried by broadcasters NDR and WDR and cited a confidential police report.
Implications for Counterterrorism Investigation
Those findings potentially raise the stakes in a widening counterterrorism investigation of the incident at an airport serving as a major cargo and military logistics hub that the German government has designated as critical infrastructure.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said late on Wednesday that the drone incident constituted a hybrid attack and an elevated level of danger.
Police in the state of Saxony, where Leipzig/Halle is located, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the media reports of the Ukrainian aircraft's military payload.
Additional Security Incidents and Airport Disruption
Search for Debris and Flight Operations Impact
German authorities, meanwhile, said on Thursday they were continuing the search for debris of an unidentified object that damaged another freight jet mid-air near Leipzig airport on the same night.
Impact on Cargo and Logistics Operations
INCIDENTS DISRUPT ONE OF GERMANY'S MAIN LOGISTICS HUBS The drone was found close to several Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo airplanes, among the world's biggest freighters, according to earlier media reports.
The cargo jet that struck the unidentified object was performing a go-around due to the closure of one of the airport's runways. It was lightly damaged in the collision and eventually landed in Hanover in northern Germany. Flights were suspended and several aircraft, including some operated by German logistics group DHL, were diverted late on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Leipzig/Halle airport, which is also used by companies like Lufthansa Cargo and Amazon.com, said on Thursday that operations were back to normal and no additional security measures had been implemented.
Suspicions and Political Reactions
While German authorities have said the perpetrators of the incidents at the airport had not yet been identified, Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker and a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, blamed Russia directly.
The Russian Embassy in Berlin did not respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Friederike HeineEditing by Miranda Murray and Joe Bavier)
