Twenty-one explosive devices found near critical infrastructure in Saxony, Germany

Prosecutors and police in the German state of Saxony have announced that authorities conducting investigations into potential attacks on critical infrastructure have now discovered a total of 21 explosive devices in the last few days.

In a press release published on Monday 7 September, authorities in Saxony said that an operation led by the Görlitz Police Directorate had found nine additional homemade explosive devices in the immediate vicinity of high-voltage power lines south of the Graustein substation near Schleife.

These devices, which were defused by special forces from the Saxony state criminal police office, brought the total number of explosive devices found in the state in recent days to 21.

The latest announcement came days after a Germany saw two sabotage attempts on parts of its electricity grid within 24 hours, one in the eastern state of Brandenburg, and the other in the city of Bergheim, west of Cologne.

The attacks and discoveries come after Germany blamed Russia for a drone-based attack on aircraft at Leipzig Airport on 4 August. German police said on Friday that they were searching for a man who sent letters claiming responsibility for a series of sabotage attacks after they found explosives at his home, however the man is still at large.

Bild newspaper has also reported that police in the western city of ⁠Wesel ​have launched major assessment operations after ​the security fence around another transformer substation was found to be cut open, while Aachener Zeitung reported late on Monday 7 September that further "launching devices" had been found in the immediate vicinity of a powerplant in Weiswiler.