German defense minister cancels U.S. trip to focus on officer's arrest
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Tue May 2, 2017 | 11:04am EDT
German defense minister cancels U.S. trip to focus on officer's arrest
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday canceled a visit to the United States to focus on the arrest of an army officer suspected of planning a racially motivated attack, the ministry said.
Von der Leyen had planned to travel to New York and Washington on Wednesday and Thursday for meetings with U.N. officials and U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
"The minister's top priority is to clear up the circumstances in the case of First Lieutenant A. from Illkirch," the ministry said in a statement, referring to the French town south of Strasbourg where the officer was stationed with a German army brigade.
Germany's chief federal prosecutor's office on Tuesday said it had taken over the case from state prosecutors, with a spokesman citing "preliminary indications of preparations for a serious attack against the state".
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Read more:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-security-army-usa-idUSKBN17Y1EK
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