The NATO air base in the German city of Geilenkirchen was cordoned off this morning over suspected sabotage, a spokesman for the German Army Territorial Command in Berlin said. quoted by Reuters. A similar case was also registered earlier today at a military base in Cologne, writes BTA.
The information was first reported by the German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
The German military base next to Cologne airport, which was completely cordoned off this morning due to suspected sabotage, will be reopened, a military spokesman was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"The barracks were closed after an incident on Tuesday evening," Lt. Col. Ulrich Vonrobert told reporters in Cologne, without giving details of the incident. He added that "the barracks will reopen in the next few minutes".
According to the magazine "Spiegel" the police, the military police and the military counterintelligence service investigated suspected sabotage against the Bundeswehr (German armed forces). The German publication also said that the water at the Bundeswehr base was likely contaminated and that soldiers and civilians had been told not to drink the water under any circumstances. Soldiers who are outside have been barred from entering the site.
The Köln-Vann bases house a number of Bundeswehr services, including the German Air Force, as the sites are in close proximity to Cologne Airport. A total of 4,300 military personnel and 1,200 civilian employees are stationed there.