{"id":67619,"date":"2026-08-06T06:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T06:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/67619\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T06:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T06:18:15","slug":"terror-probe-launched-after-explosive-drone-found-at-german-cargo-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/67619\/","title":{"rendered":"Terror probe launched after explosive drone found at German cargo hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germany has opened a counterterrorism investigation after an explosive-laden drone was found near a runway at Leipzig\/Halle airport, prompting the closure of parts of one of Europe’s biggest cargo hubs.<\/p>\n

Investigators were also examining what a DHL cargo plane had struck in the air after being diverted from the airport in eastern Germany during the disruption.<\/p>\n

Airport workers discovered the drone in a restricted cargo area near the southern runway overnight on Wednesday, local time. Flights were suspended and several aircraft, including some owned by German logistics firm DHL, were diverted.<\/p>\n

Authorities said there had been no danger to passengers or airport staff and most operations resumed by morning after one runway was reopened.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The discovery prompted the closure of one of Leipzig’s runways and the diversion of some flights. (Reuters: Axel Schmidt)<\/p>\n

The diverted plane hit an unidentified object while climbing away from the airport. Minor damage was discovered after it landed in Hanover, authorities said. A source familiar with the incident said the plane belonged to DHL.<\/p>\n

German security services to hold meeting<\/p>\n

The southern runway of the airport, a major hub for DHL and Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines, remained closed while explosives experts examined the drone and removed its detonator, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt had scheduled an emergency meeting with the heads of Germany’s security services for Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The drone was discovered at Leipzig-Halle Airport near to a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane. (Reuters: Axel Schmidt)<\/p>\n

German airports are on high alert after a series of unauthorised drone overflights at sites including military facilities, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies.<\/p>\n

Federal police have said the overflights could have been organised by Russian agents.<\/p>\n

Germany’s Bild newspaper reported that the Leipzig drone had been found lying in the immediate vicinity of a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane. The airline has used Leipzig\/Halle as an operating base since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.<\/p>\n

The explosive may have been one that can be made easily from fertiliser and gasoline, it added.<\/p>\n

Anti-extremism prosecutors and counterterrorism officers took over the investigation after experts confirmed the drone was carrying explosives.<\/p>\n

European security agencies have been investigating a series of incendiary devices concealed in parcels that caught fire in 2024, raising concerns about sabotage of air cargo operators.<\/p>\n

Some of the devices were found at a DHL warehouse in Leipzig and in freight shipments in transit across Europe.<\/p>\n

An Interior Ministry spokesperson said no connection with the incident could be determined at this stage.<\/p>\n

Russia has denied any involvement in the 2024 incidents and the more recent overflights.<\/p>\n

Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Germany has opened a counterterrorism investigation after an explosive-laden drone was found near a runway at Leipzig\/Halle airport,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21057],"tags":[4145,21073,21072,1367,50699,5,50698,81,9427,58],"class_list":["post-67619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dhl","tag-airport","tag-deutsche-post","tag-dhl","tag-drone","tag-explosives","tag-germany","tag-halle","tag-investigation","tag-leipzig","tag-terrorism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}