Major German police manhunt for suspected saboteur

A large police manhunt is under way in a forest outside Cologne for a climate activist suspected of sabotaging Germany’s power network.

Police and media have published a photo and the first name of the 48-year-old suspect. Officers reportedly received a letter in which he claimed responsibility for several attempts to attack Germany’s electricity supply, citing opposition to fossil fuels. The suspected sabotage attempts in different parts of Germany were linked to large coal-fired power plants, Bild reported.

Police searched the suspect’s home in a small town in the region on Friday and found explosives. He is believed to be somewhere in Hambach Forest, a threatened woodland that has long been a battleground between climate activists and the coal industry.