None of them had known criminal records, according to the German investigators.

German investigators reached by telephone said today that it was too early to comment on the purpose or the final destination of the weapon.

Today, American and German investigators say, those three are among the most wanted men on earth.

In the 1940s an interest in genetic studies came to the fore, although several German investigators had already been following this line for some years.

German investigators have concluded now that Germany itself is a target.

"These success rates are quite remarkable," German investigators wrote in 2008.

According to other German investigators, another intercepted phone call also offered vital information of a link here.

German investigators also discovered that the Swiss controller had telephone problems.

German investigators would also like to know whether other people in Hamburg aided the cell.

German investigators suspected a terrorist organization was behind the plot.