Germany Launches International Hunt for Accomplices in Bomb Plot

German authorities have launched an international search for accomplices officials believe provided support to three men arrested Tuesday in connection with a foiled bomb plot in the country.

Prosecutors say they are seeking about seven suspects both in Germany and abroad believed to have helped plan and finance a plot to bomb Frankfurt's airport and the huge U.S. military base in Ramstein, as well as bars and clubs.

German authorities say two Germans and a Turk now in custody were preparing to set off "massive bomb attacks" using hydrogen peroxide and detonators found in a house the three had rented in central Germany.

Officials say the three suspects received terror training in Pakistan at a camp run by the Islamic Jihad Union - a Sunni Muslim group with ties to al-Qaida.

German officials say the suspects had been under surveillance since last December.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday said the arrests show the threat of terrorism in Germany is real, not abstract.

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the United States is very grateful for German efforts to combat extremism and terrorism.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.