German police examine far-left claim over arson at Rheinmetall construction site
Three construction vehicles burned at Kassel-Calden airport, where Rheinmetall is building a drone test center. A claim has surfaced online. Hesse's interior minister called it a “targeted attack.”
Archive image · Photo: Michael32710 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Police in Germany are examining a claim of responsibility posted online after a suspected arson attack on a construction site of defense company Rheinmetall at Kassel-Calden airport. Police said the claim appeared on a platform that the domestic intelligence service classifies as left-wing extremist and that it would be “examined intensively” as part of the investigation. Investigators believe the fire was set deliberately; the state security unit of the North Hesse police is handling the case.
Three construction vehicles burned at the site overnight into Friday. A witness alerted firefighters and police at about 3:15 a.m., and the fire was put out. Police said other machines parked nearby were also damaged. Investigators are appealing for witnesses who noticed anything suspicious at the time.
Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck of the Christian Democrats called it a “targeted attack” that showed the far-left scene had become radicalized. He cited an attack on a CDU office in Offenbach in September and earlier arson attacks in Kassel, including on four German army vehicles. The site is to house a logistics and training center and a drone test center; Rheinmetall and the state of Hesse announced investments of more than 260 million euros there in August.