French Terror Suspect Held in W. Germany
West German police have arrested a man suspected of taking part in operations of the French terrorist gang Direct Action, officials said Wednesday.
Court sources close to the French investigation of Direct Action identified the man as Renaud Laigle, 29, suspected of bombings and robberies in Lyon and Paris.
The sources said Laigle fled to West Germany in March, 1986, after an international arrest warrant was issued for him.
Interior Ministry officials in Paris said an alleged accomplice of Laigle, 30-year-old Mouloud Aissoud, was arrested in Lyon late Wednesday. No further details were given.
A statement by the Bavarian criminal police said anti-terrorist officers, acting on a tip from French authorities, arrested a 29-year-old Frenchman--the French sources later identified him as Laigle--about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at Munich’s Riem airport.
According to the statement, Laigle was not believed to have links to West Germany’s Red Army Faction terrorists. He is suspected of involvement with Direct Action’s “national wing.”
Authorities in Bonn and Paris have warned of growing cooperation between Direct Action and the Red Army Faction, which claimed joint responsibility for the August, 1985, bombing at the U.S. Rhein-Main Air Base that killed two people and injured 20.
In France, Direct Action claimed responsibility for the murder of French Gen. Rene Audran in 1985, and for the November, 1986, assassination of Renault chief Georges Besse.
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