Star Metro - Germany probes latest sabotage attacks on power grid

Police launched a terrorism probe over the first incident, which saw improvised explosives fired early Tuesday at a site in eastern Brandenburg state, damaging power cables.

In the second sabotage attack, unknown perpetrators allegedly deliberately caused a short-circuit by targeting overhead power lines at a substation in Bergheim in North Rhine-Westphalia state.

Police said there were similarities between the incidents, particularly the use of pyrotechnic devices.

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said officials were probing whether the attack in the state was directed by a "foreign state" or left-wing extremism.

Neither incident caused widespread power outages, although operations at nearby coal-fired power stations were affected.

Germany has faced repeated attacks on electricity infrastructure, with far-left militants claiming responsibility in some cases.

Berlin, a key supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia, is also on alert for Moscow-backed sabotage plots.

"More sabotage, more hybrid attacks -- interference like this is not happening far away, it's happening right on our doorstep," Reul told a press conference.

"And anyone who acts this way is not just trying to hit cables; they're trying to hit our country."

The attacks came the same day that Germany formally blamed Russia for an attempted "hybrid attack" involving an explosive-laden drone at a strategic airport in Leipzig last month and announced diplomatic counter-measures.

- Latest infrastructure attack -

In the incident in Bergheim, west of Cologne, police were called to the substation late Tuesday and discovered the cables had been damaged.

Investigators later found six launchers in an adjacent field which are thought to be connected to the crime, senior detective Michael Esser said.

They suspect that the launchers were constructed to fire pyrotechnic devices carrying a wire over the power lines, and cause a short circuit, he said.

A wire used in the attack was set alight and damaged a fence, while witnesses observed brief flashes of light, the detective said.

Five power-generating units at two coal-fired power plants were knocked out by the disruption at the substation, although they were being brought back online and there had not been major power outages, operator RWE said.

Esser noted that pyrotechnics were used in the attacks in both North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg, and police were examining whether they were connected.

In the attack in Brandenburg, which targeted a substation in Preilack near the Polish border, homemade explosives resembling large fireworks were fired at power cables.

The attack on the site, which distributes power from the nearby Jaenschwalde plant, damaged electricity cables and caused a brief disruption to supply.

Police announced Wednesday they had launched a terror probe into that incident. They are also investigating the attack on suspicion of disrupting public services and destroying essential equipment, according to a statement.

W.Fortin--SMC