German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called a meeting of the National Security Council today after a drone with an explosive device was spotted next to a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig/Halle airport on Wednesday night, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"The Chancellor is in constant contact with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrin and other members of the government," said German government spokesman Stefan Cornelius.
Germany's National Security Council was established in August last year in view of the increasing operations to weaken the country's stability, cases of espionage and subversion, which are largely attributed to Russia.
According to Minister Dobrindt said the Leipzig incident was a "possible case of a hybrid attack". He warned on Wednesday evening of a "new dimension of the threat".
Given the lack of a suspect in the incident, the German opposition parties the Greens and the Free Democratic Party said Russia was behind it.
Air traffic was disrupted at Leipzig/Halle airport on Wednesday night after a drone carrying an explosive device was discovered, which was later defused.
According to the German daily "Bild" A driver spotted the drone flying at low altitude near Ukrainian cargo planes, then grabbed it and held it to the ground until police sappers arrived.
German media reported that the drone was loaded with "Semtex", a plastic explosive used for military and industrial purposes, but mainly by armed Islamist groups and the paramilitary organization Irish Republican Army (IRA).
In 1988, it was this explosive that caused the plane crash over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which killed 270 people.
The German federal prosecutor's office took over the investigation from the Dresden prosecutor's office, noting that "professional explosives" were used in the incident at Leipzig airport.
"This is a serious attack on the country's transport and logistics infrastructure, "which affects internal and external security," said Attorney General Jens Rommel.
Shortly after the incident, a second unidentified flying object hit a DHL plane that was maneuvering over the airport before it closed.
Hundreds of police officers searched the area around the crash site but found no biological material that could suggest a bird had hit the plane.
Leipzig/Halle Airport plays a central role in transporting military equipment, especially for the German army and its NATO allies, AFP notes.