German police are investigating a suspected sabotage campaign after a suspicious device was found at an electricity substation in Dormagen, a city in western Germany between Cologne and Düsseldorf, authorities said early Friday, September 4.
Investigators have received a letter claiming responsibility that also refers to other publicly reported suspected incidents in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg, a police spokesman told dpa.
The suspicious object was discovered by a passer-by at the Dormagen substation on Thursday evening. Examination of the device was still underway, and it may be a “suspicious launching device,” the spokesman said.
German newspaper Bild reported that launching devices for homemade rockets had been found, with timers and copper wires attached to them. Police have not officially confirmed those details.
Officers were also inspecting other substations in surrounding areas to determine whether additional suspicious objects had been placed there, the spokesman said.
No damage has so far been identified apart from an incident at a substation in Bergheim, west of Cologne. Authorities previously said that unknown perpetrators had placed cables across overhead power lines on Tuesday in an apparent attempt to cause a short circuit. Several launching devices were subsequently discovered.
Similar incident in Southern Brandenburg
A similar incident occurred several hours earlier in the eastern German state of Brandenburg.
Near the Jänschwalde power plant on Tuesday morning, homemade projectiles resembling New Year’s Eve fireworks were used to direct conductive material toward high-voltage power lines.
More than a dozen devices intended for that purpose were found. The grid operator said the incident did not result in a power outage.
Investigators have said they believe the incidents in Bergheim and Jänschwalde were acts of sabotage motivated by anti-constitutional aims.
According to Bild, the devices discovered in Dormagen resembled those found in Bergheim and Jänschwalde.
German newspaper taz reported on Thursday evening that it had received a letter claiming responsibility for the Brandenburg incident. The postmark indicated that the letter had been sent from North Rhine-Westphalia.
According to taz, the sender claimed to have acted alone, provided detailed descriptions of the homemade rockets used and cited the “immeasurable suffering” caused by the use of fossil fuels as a motive.
After conducting extensive checks, taz stressed that it could not establish beyond doubt whether the author of the letter was also responsible for the incident.
By Tamilla Hasanova
