Another device found at German substation, police suspect sabotage

German police suspect sabotage after a suspicious device was found at an electricity substation in the western city of Dormagen, between Cologne and Düsseldorf, authorities said early on Friday.

Investigators have received a letter claiming responsibility that also mentions other publicly known suspected cases in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and in Brandenburg, a police spokesman told dpa.

Examinations of the suspicious object, which was discovered by a passer-by at the Dormagen substation on Thursday evening, have not yet been completed. It may be a "suspicious launching device," the spokesman said.

According to German newspaper Bild, launching devices for homemade rockets were discovered. The report said timers and copper wires had been attached to the devices. Police did not officially confirm those details.

Officers were also checking other substations in surrounding regions to determine whether suspicious objects had been placed there, the spokesman said.

So far, no damage has been found apart from at a substation in Bergheim, west of Cologne. Authorities had previously said unknown perpetrators had placed cables across overhead power lines to cause a short circuit on Tuesday. Several launching devices were later discovered.

Similar incident in southern Brandenburg

A similar incident had occurred a few hours earlier in the state of Brandenburg.

Near the Jänschwalde power plant on Tuesday morning, homemade projectiles resembling New Year's Eve fireworks were used to direct conductive material towards high-voltage power lines.

More than a dozen devices intended for that purpose were found. The grid operator said there was no power outage.

Investigators have said they believe the incidents in Bergheim and Jänschwalde were acts of sabotage motivated by anti-constitutional aims.

According to Bild, the devices found in Dormagen resembled those discovered in Bergheim and Jänschwalde.

German newspaper taz reported on Thursday evening that it had received a letter claiming responsibility for the Brandenburg incident. According to the postmark, the letter was sent from North Rhine-Westphalia.

The newspaper said the sender described themselves as acting alone, gave detailed descriptions of the homemade rockets used and cited the "immeasurable suffering" caused by the use of fossil fuels as a motive.

After extensive checks, taz stressed that it could not be established beyond doubt whether the author of the letter was also responsible for the incident.