Germany investigates explosive device attached to drone at Leipzig airport

What the report says

German authorities have opened an investigation after an explosive device was found attached to a drone at Leipzig/Halle airport in eastern Germany, Al Jazeera reports. Police said an airport employee noticed the object near the runway shortly before midnight, prompting the deployment of an explosives-disposal robot and the removal of the device’s detonator. The case is being handled by prosecutors in Saxony, who oversee politically motivated and extremist crimes, though officials have not identified suspects or said who may be responsible.

The airport’s north runway reopened after being shut for about two hours, while the south runway was already closed for maintenance. Several flights, including one passenger aircraft, were diverted during the disruption. Authorities later said airport operations resumed normally and that there was no danger to travelers or staff.

Al Jazeera also reported that a separate flying object appears to have struck a freight aircraft after it aborted a landing because the runway was closed. That plane diverted to Hannover, where inspectors found minor damage. Officials have not said whether this incident was linked to the drone case. The reporting did not indicate that any aircraft was definitively targeted, though images from the scene showed police working near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane.