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Two detained as German police probe arson attack on Munich defence firm

By Thomson Reuters Sep 3, 2026 | 2:36 AM

BERLIN, Sept 3 (Reuters) – German police are investigating a suspected politically motivated arson attack at a construction ​site outside the Munich headquarters ‌of defence technology company Rohde & Schwarz, authorities said on Thursday.

A Bavarian police spokesperson confirmed an investigation into suspected arson but said ‌there ​was currently no evidence ⁠that the attack ⁠had been directed specifically at Rohde & Schwarz.

The police spokesperson said a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both ​Bulgarian nationals, were arrested in connection with the incident.

The fire caused ⁠no significant damage ⁠and was quickly extinguished. No ​one was injured, police said.

Rohde & Schwarz confirmed ​that an incident had occurred at ‌a construction site near its headquarters.

German authorities are on high alert for attacks on infrastructure after the government ⁠this week said Russia was behind an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane ⁠at ‌Leipzig/Halle airport last month.

German Interior ⁠Minister Alexander Dobrindt has ​said ‌that foreign powers, particularly Russia, ​could be ⁠using left-wing extremist groups as proxies for sabotage, warning that some of them increasingly echo Russian narratives on the Ukraine war.

(Reporting by Friederike Heine and ​Ludwig Burger)