BERLIN — German prosecutors said Thursday that they have filed murder charges against a 21-year-old Kosovo Albanian in the slaying of two U.S. airmen outside Frankfurt’s airport and alleged he was inspired by online jihadist videos to kill Americans.
Arid Uka, who grew up in Germany, was charged Monday with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection with the March 2 attack. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence.
Authorities have said that Uka confessed shortly after his capture at the airport to wanting to kill American troops because of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
According to the indictment, Uka was radicalized by jihadist propaganda on the Internet, and the night before the act, he had watched a video that purported to show American atrocities in Afghanistan. It was actually a clip from a film.
The investigation turned up no connections with any terrorist organization. “He was a single person acting alone radicalized through jihadi Internet propaganda,” said prosecutor spokesman Marcus Koehler.
Uka’s attorney, Jens Joerg Hoffmann, said his client gave detailed statements to authorities and does not dispute the indictment. The Associated Press
