German police detain suspect in July bomb plot

BERLIN, Aug 19 (Reuters) German police have taken into custody a suspect linked to last month's failed plot to explode bombs on German trains, the federal prosecutor's office said today.

''The person appears to be one of the two suspects that have been sought since yesterday with the help of video footage that was made public,'' the office said in a statement.

Police seized the suspect at the main train station in the northern city of Kiel.

Earlier, police had shut the station for five hours. They said the move was linked to the investigation into two bombs that were discovered in abandoned suitcases on trains in Dortmund and Koblenz last month.

Police said today they were looking for two male suspects who were caught on video boarding the trains with the suitcases in Cologne. The footage of the two men was put on the Internet to help the manhunt.

Police have said the bombs may have been part of a plot designed to show anger over the West Asia crisis.

The bombs were fitted with timers set to go off 10 minutes before the trains arrived in the two cities. The explosives had been ignited but failed to detonate.

The prosecutor's office said the suspect would be brought before a federal judge investigating the bomb plot tomorrow.

Federal prosecutor Monika Harms is scheduled to hold a news conference today at 4:30 pm. Police in Kiel said they would hold a news conference 30 minutes later.

Reuters DKA GC1617