Police hunt suspect in series of sabotage attacks on German power grid

Police are intensively searching for a suspect believed to be responsible for sabotage attacks on Germany's electricity grid, with explosives found at the suspect's flat and a motorhome converted from a lorry being raided in connection to the incidents.

The suspect, a 48-year-old man, is being pursued in connection with letters of claim sent to media outlets, with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt suggesting the motive behind the attacks may be "climate terrorism" due to opposition to generating electricity from fossil fuels.

The sabotage incidents, concentrated in states where lignite is mined and used for power generation, have led to police investigations on suspicion of forming a terrorist organization, with a joint wanted notice issued by authorities in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Police are continuing an intensive manhunt for a man suspected of carrying out sabotage attacks on Germany's electricity grid.

The manhunt follows two letters of claim sent to several media outlets, including dpa. "The knowledge revealed in these letters is clearly the knowledge of the perpetrator," said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.

On the likely motive, Dobrindt said it was highly probable that the attacks amounted to "climate terrorism" by a lone actor. One of the letters states: "Generating electricity from fossil fuels is a crime."

The incidents were concentrated in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and most recently Saxony - three states where lignite is still mined and used to generate power.

Police and prosecutors in Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia issued a joint wanted notice on Saturday afternoon, releasing two photographs of the 48-year-old suspect and appealing to the public for information.

On Friday, officers found explosives at the suspect's flat in Gevelsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia. Later that afternoon, a special operations unit raided a lorry in a forest near Niederzier, roughly 100 kilometres away, which appeared to have been converted into a motorhome. The suspect was not found.

There have been several attempts at sabotage relating to the electricity supply this week. Police are investigating on suspicion of, among other things, forming a terrorist organization.