'Kosovan Muslim who shouted Islamic slogans' before shooting dead two U.S. airmen at Frankfurt airport was an employee



'Lone Kosovan gunman', 21, shot dead soldier and driver



Kosovan authorities identify suspect as Arid Uka



Uncle says he was a German-born devout Muslim who worked at the airport



Troops had just arrived in Germany from Britain

'Too early to say if it is terrorist attack,' say police



Two American airmen were shot dead and another left fighting for his life today after a 'Kosovo Albanian' gunman stormed their bus before opening fire at Germany’s busiest airport where he allegedly worked.



Officials said the suspect, identified as Arid Uka, 21, shouted out 'Islamic slogans' before opening fire.



He allegedly gunned down his first victim as the soldier stood in front of the vehicle at Terminal 2 before t urning his weapon on the driver as he sat behind the wheel.



Investigation: Firemen attach blankets to the U.S. military bus where two American airmen were shot dead at Frankfurt Airport today

Deadly: The troops had just got off a flight and were being taken to barracks when a gunman opened fire

A fourth man was lightly injured and both he and the gravely wounded man are now being treated at the city’s University Clinic Hospital.

A German official told Fox News Channel that one airman was smoking a cigarette when the suspect pulled out a firearm and shot him.

Another serviceman was gunned down as he returned a luggage trolley.

The attacker, reportedly wielding a knife and a handgun, then boarded the bus and fired at the driver before being taken down by police, the official said.

The suspect's uncle, 70-year-old Rexhep Uka, said Uka was born and raised in Germany and was a devout Muslim who worked at the airport.



He said Uka's grandfather was a religious leader at a mosque in the village of Zhabar, near Mitrovica, Kosovo.





Murat Uka, who identified himself as the alleged shooter's father, says the only thing he knew about his son was that he hadn't turned up at work on Wednesday.

The Frankfurt airport refused to comment on whether the suspect worked there.

The airport, continental Europe’s second biggest after Paris, is routinely used by American soldiers based in Germany for arrivals and departures.

ABC News reported that when the gunman opened fire, he shouted 'Allah Akbar' which is Arabic for 'God is Great'.



HOW KOSOVO HAS BECOME A FERTILE RECRUITING GROUND FOR AL QAEDA With a young Muslim population in the newly-independent state of Kosovo, al Qaeda sees it as a fertile recruitment ground. With an average age of under 30 it has one of the youngest populations in Europe and Muslims make up around 80 per cent of the population which stands at around two million. The independence of Kosovo was secured in 1999 after a Nato-led coalition bombed the country. Advancing U.S. troops at the time were greeted with flowers and cheers as the state secured its independence from Yugoslavia. The country declared independence in 2008 and it was recognised by the U.S. at ambassadorial level. However, former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic admitted that rebels were assisted by al Qaeda in their fight.

He was said to have fired nine times before his gun jammed and he was taken down by police.



City police spokesman Manfred Füllhardt said the bus load of airmen, from the Security Forces Team, had just arrived from Lakenheath base in England.

They had boarded the bus to go to the American military base at Ramstein, a few dozen miles to the southwest of the Frankfurt Airport.

There were thought to be around 15 U.S. personnel on the bus.



They were on their way to support Overseas Contingency Operations.

Mr Füllhardt said t he suspect argued with some of the airmen before shooting one who was standing in the open door as well as the driver.

It was confirmed that a body was found outside the bus and one on the bus.



He was captured by a Hesse state police officer who was at the airport, which typically has heavy security.

It has been beefed in recent months following warnings that Germany would be a terror target.



Police arrested the Kosovo man yards from the bus with the automatic weapon he used. He was also armed with a knife.

In Washington, President Obama said he was 'saddened and outraged' by the attack.



'We will spare no effort in learning how this outrageous act took place and in working with German authorities to ensure that all of the perpetrators are brought to justice.

'But this is a stark reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our men and women in uniform are making all around the world to keep us safe, and the dangers that they face all around the globe.'



Stationary: The bus was parked outside Terminal 2 of the airport when the attack occurred

En route: The soldiers had just arrived in Germany having left their Lakenheath base in Britain

FRANKFURT, A HOTBED OF EXTREMISM IN WEST GERMANY

In the murky world of international terrorism, the city of Frankfurt comes up again and again. It was here that 9/11 terrorist Mohamed Atta was observed buying chemicals while he was based in Germany the year before he flew a plane into one of the Twin Towers.

In 2007, terrorists were plotting to strike the city's airport on the sixth anniversary of 9/11. Prosecutors said they disrupted what would have been the 'worst terror attack in German history'. The group were jailed for between five and 12 years in March last year after being found guilty of plotting to cause explosions several times bigger than on 7/7. Fritz Gelowicz, 30, and Daniel Schneider, 24, were jailed for 12 years. Adem Yilmaz, 31, was told he must serve 11 years behind bars and Attila Selek, 25, was given five years.

The U.S. military has a number of major bases near Frankfurt, including the Ramstein airbase, which are used as hubs for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Germany, which opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq but has more than 4,000 troops in Afghanistan, has beefed up security and surveillance in response to the threat of attacks in recent years.

Frankfurt, in the south-west of Germany, has a population of 2.3million people. It is a cosmopolitan city with a large number of Turks and Italians, although it is unclear how big the Kosovan community is.

