German police investigate suspected arson near Rohde & Schwarz headquarters

Munich, Germany. Police are investigating a suspected politically motivated arson attack at a construction site near the headquarters of defence technology company Rohde & Schwarz.

A 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both Bulgarian nationals, were arrested in connection with the incident.

Investigation under way

A Bavarian police spokesperson confirmed that an investigation into suspected arson was under way, but said there was currently no evidence that the incident had specifically targeted Rohde & Schwarz.

The fire caused no significant damage, was quickly extinguished and resulted in no injuries, police said.

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

Infrastructure security concerns

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

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