German-Turk did Afghan suicide attack

BERLIN, March 17 (UPI) -- Authorities are investigating whether a recent suicide attack in Afghanistan was staged by a German-born Turk, reports at the weekend said.

Der Spiegel reported that Berlin's Joint Counter-Terrorism Center, known as GTAZ, was taking seriously an Internet claim by an al-Qaida-linked group with roots in Central Asia.

The Islamic Jihad Union said in the claim that the suicide attack -- which killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded a dozen others on March 3 -- was carried out by Cuneyt Ciftci, also known as Saad Abu Fourkan.

The claim's credibility was undermined because it said 60 U.S. troops had been killed.

Spiegel reported that Ciftci, a Turkish citizen from Bavaria, had links to the IJU-linked group of extremists apprehended last year planning an attack on U.S. bases in Germany.

He was "regarded as a dangerous Islamist," Spiegel reported, adding if the claim were true "it would be a nightmare for the investigators -- the first suicide bomber from Germany."

Known as "Ismail from Ansbach" by his alleged associates in the IJU-linked cell, Ciftci had left Germany in April last year, long before the cell was arrested, Spiegel said.