Germany Drops Couple's Bomb Plot Charges
Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped charges alleging a Turkish man and his American girlfriend plotted to bomb a U.S. military base in Germany around last year’s Sept. 11 anniversary, but upheld lesser charges of illegal explosives possession. Osman Petmezci, a 25-year-old Turk, was initially charged with planning to attack the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Department or a store on the base in this southwestern city. The base is home to 16,000 U.S. troops and dependents stationed mainly with the Army’s European headquarters and the V Corps’ headquarters. His girlfriend, Astrid Eyzaguirre, 23, was charged with being an accessory. After the couple’s Sept. 5 arrest on an FBI tip, German investigators found gunpowder and six pipes they believe were intended for making a bomb, as well as other chemicals that could be used for homemade explosives, at their apartment in Walldorf, south of Heidelberg. They also found a picture of Osama bin Laden. Full Story