Explosive found near German market

Berlin: The German police on Friday found an “explosive” containing nails 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.

Berlin, Dec. 1: German police on Friday were investigating a possible explosive containing nails 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 Berlin.

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.”

“There were apparently not only nails but also powder in the canister, and that must be investigated, could it be plaster, or something that doesn’t explode or is it something explosive,” he said, adding that “binding results” were unlikely to come on Friday.

After clearing parts of the city centre and Christmas market, bomb disposal units defused the device shortly before 6 pm.

Christmas market organiser Peter Klemm told broadcaster NTV: “It’s not easy when you’re on the scene, we’re shocked.

“But the people here understand what’s going on and take the measures very seriously.”