Germany to say who's behind attempted airport drone attack soon, says Merz


FILE PHOTO: A police officer in protective clothing walks next to an explosive-disarming robot (EOD) at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany, August 5, 2026. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo

BERLIN, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The ⁠German government will soon announce who is responsible ⁠for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport ‌earlier this month, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a coalition summit, Merz said his government was "working closely with the security authorities ​on this, and we will set ⁠this out and comment on ⁠it shortly."

Security sources cited by local media suspect the involvement ⁠of ‌Russian intelligence in the attempted attack, but Berlin has not made any direct accusations.

On August ⁠4, an explosives-laden drone was discovered near a ​Ukrainian Antonov cargo ‌aircraft used for military supplies. Investigators suspect a ⁠second drone ​collided with a DHL cargo plane soon after the airport's temporary shutdown.

The airport is a cargo and military logistics hub used ⁠by NATO and Ukraine's Antonov Airlines ​for military supplies.

German investigators discovered a third drone and suspected explosives linked to the attempted attack 10 days later, broadcasters ⁠NDR and WDR and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said on Tuesday.

The drone was found to the west of the airport, where investigators also discovered about 50 grams (1.8 oz) ​of a substance they suspected to ⁠be the military explosive hexogen, the media reports said.

The office ​of the prosecutor general declined to ‌comment on the report. Moscow ​has denied any involvement in the incident.

(Writing by Friederike Heine; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Miranda Murray)

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