German police on Tuesday confiscated the server and data storage devices for the xplosives.net portal. Police said the website — which hosted instructions on building military-grade weapons and bombs — had been online since 2006.

Tuesday's operation involved around 1,000 officers and was coordinated by the police department in the city of Göttingen. Dawn raids took place in Germany as well as neighboring Croatia and Lithuania.

The site was diverted to a police notice which stated: 'This domain and its criminal content have been seized by the Central Criminal Investigation Inspectorate Göttingen […] pursuant to a seizure warrant by the District Court of Göttingen.'

Explosives enthusiasts

Police said they swooped on the homes of 22 German nationals between the ages of 17-55, adding that none of the suspects were arrested because they were not determined to be flight risks.

The alleged perpetrators appeared to be amateur explosives enthusiasts who try and outdo each other in creating powerful explosions. Police said there were no indications of a political motive.

The xplosives.net website had been freely accessible by anyone with the address, and was not hosted on the so-called darknet.

Tuesday's raids were conducted in the states Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.

Pyrotechnic toros: Devotion to a dangerous craft Fiery fiesta Months after a fatal explosion tore through a fireworks market in Tultepec, Mexico, the town honored its patron saint by exploding hundreds of colorful bull figures rigged with fireworks. The blast at the San Pablito pyrotechnics market unleashed a powerful chain-reaction that burst through the market in a cascade of explosions.

Pyrotechnic toros: Devotion to a dangerous craft Deadly explosion before Christmas Forty-two people died and 70 were injured when tonnes of fireworks ignited at a market inTultepec, on the northern outskirts of Mexico City a few days before Christmas last year.

Pyrotechnic toros: Devotion to a dangerous craft Flamboyant festival for San Juan de Dios Tultepec returned to its flamboyant but risky ways, marking the Catholic festival of San Juan de Dios, with thousands of revelers running among exploding fireworks and hundreds of giant burning paper bulls.

Pyrotechnic toros: Devotion to a dangerous craft Firework capital of Mexico Known as the "firework capital of Mexico," the village has specialized in making explosive powder since the 19th century. Local authorities say it exports $4 million (3.8 million euros) worth of fireworks a year to Central America and the United States. Also, an estimated 30,000 people in Tultepec work in the fireworks business.

Pyrotechnic toros: Devotion to a dangerous craft "Fire, fire!" Fireworks explode off a wheeled paper bull rigged with fireworks in the middle of the packed town square as delighted revelers yell "Fire, fire!" Firefighters, ambulances and security forces were out in force in case of accidents.

Pyrotechnic toros: Devotion to a dangerous craft Devotion to a dangerous art Eighteen-year-old local powder maker Uriel Gonzales says: "It's worth the risk of dying for the beauty of the craft." The San Pablito fireworks market has exploded on three occasions over the past 12 years... Author: Nadine Berghausen



kw/rc (AP, dpa)

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