Police probe possible explosive near German Christmas market

BERLIN (AFP) — German police on Friday were investigating a possible explosive device close to a Christmas market in Potsdam, reviving fears of a repeat of last year’s terror attack that struck at the height of the festive season.

The device was uncovered in a package found at a pharmacy just off the Christmas market in central Potsdam, a picturesque city near here in the capital.

Police said a pharmacist had sounded the alert after finding a canister with wires inside the package.

Investigators initially said in a tweet that “suspicions of an unconventional explosive device have been confirmed.”

But Brandenburg interior minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter later said a probe was still ongoing to determine “whether the device was actually capable of causing an explosion or not.”

Police found a canister filled with nails and powder, batteries and wires in the package as well as a powerful firework of a type not allowed in Germany.

But investigators added there was no sign of a detonator inside.

After clearing parts of the city center and Christmas market, bomb disposal units defused the device shortly before 6 p.m. (1700 GMT).

Schroeter said officers were combing the area to check if other similar packages had been deposited. It was unclear whether the pharmacy or the market was the target.