Prosecutors in the eastern German state of Saxony announced Monday that authorities have found 21 explosive devices as part of their ongoing investigation into attacks on the electricity grid. The discoveries have kept authorities on high alert for days.
Investigators found nine additional homemade explosive devices over the weekend near high-voltage power lines south of the Graustein substation in the Goerlitz district. These bring the total number of devices discovered to 21, according to a joint statement from police and prosecutors.
Germany has been a focal point for European concerns regarding the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. This comes after a series of sabotage incidents on the nation's power grid last week. These events followed a drone attack in August at Leipzig/Halle, for which the German government formally blamed Russia.
German police reported Friday that they are searching for a man who sent letters claiming responsibility for a series of sabotage attacks on the power grid. The man, who remains at large, is sought after authorities found what appeared to be explosives at his home.
Separately, 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, according to the Bild newspaper.
In a separate incident earlier on Monday, initial findings into a fire at a transformer substation in Berlin indicated the cause was a technical fault, Spiegel reported, citing Police Commissioner Barbara Slowik Meisel.