Germany was investigating a suspected arson attack outside a defence firm in Munich on Thursday (September 3) days after two sabotage attempts on the power grid and a month after an airport drone attack that Berlin and its allies blamed on Russia.

Police said they were looking into a fire overnight at a construction site at the headquarters of defence firm Rohde & Schwarz, whose products include radar systems to detect, track and jam drones.

A 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both Bulgarian nationals, were arrested at a petrol station close to the site in connection with the incident, a spokesperson of the State Criminal Police Office in the southern state of Bavaria said.

The fire caused no significant damage before it was extinguished and no one was injured, officials said.

Rohde & Schwarz said there had been a "police and fire brigade operation" near its premises, but did not elaborate.

German authorities are on high alert for threats to critical infrastructure. This week, police investigated two attempts to sabotage the electricity grid within 24 hours in the states of Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Also this week, Berlin formally blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport in August, prompting calls by European allies for tighter sanctions on Moscow.

German authorities have said they could not rule out either foreign involvement or domestic left-wing extremists behind this week's sabotage cases on the power grid.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has warned that foreign powers could also use extremist groups as proxies for sabotage operations in Germany. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was hosting his French and Polish counterparts to discuss security on Thursday.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

Germany probes suspected arson near defence firm as sabotage concerns mount

VIDEO SHOWS: POLICE INVESTIGATING A SUSPECTED POLITICALLY MOTIVATED ARSON ATTACK AT A CONSTRUCTION SITE OUTSIDE THE MUNICH HEADQUARTERS OF DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY ROHDE & SCHWARZ / INTERVIEW WITH SPOKESPERSON BAVARIAN STATE CRIMINAL POLICE OFFICE, GAS STATION WHERE ARRESTS OF SUSPECTS SUPPOSEDLY TOOK PLACE

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: MUNICH, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 3, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF POLICE VEHICLES AND BARRIER TAPE AT THE CRIME SCENE / A CONSTRUCTION SITE OUTSIDE THE MUNICH HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY ROHDE & SCHWARZ

2. POLICE OFFICERS WITH A DOG

3. POLICE OFFICERS AND BARRIER TAPE AT THE CRIME SCENE

4. VARIOUS OF POLICE VEHICLES

5. POLICE OFFICER WALKING WITH A DOG

6. POLICE VEHICLES IN FRONT OF THE MUNICH HEADQUARTERS OF DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY ROHDE & SCHWARZ

7. SIGN READING "ROHDE & SCHWARZ"

8. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ENTERING BUILDING COMPLEX

9. SIGN READING "ROHDE & SCHWARZ"

10. POLICE VEHICLES IN FRONT OF BUILDING

11. WINDOWS

12. VARIOUS OF POLICE VEHICLES AND OFFICERS IN FRONT OF BUILDING

13. VARIOUS OF POLICE VEHICLE ARRIVING

14. SIGN READING "RS"

15. PAN OVER POLICE VEHICLES IN FRONT OF THE MUNICH HEADQUARTERS OF DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY ROHDE & SCHWARZ

16. VARIOUS OF LUDWIG WALDINGER, SPOKESPERSON BAVARIAN STATE CRIMINAL POLICE OFFICE ("BAYERISCHES LANDESKRIMINALAMT"), TALKING TO JOURNALIST

17. (SOUNDBITE) (German), LUDWIG WALDINGER, SPOKESPERSON BAVARIAN STATE CRIMINAL POLICE OFFICE ("BAYERISCHES LANDESKRIMINALAMT"), SAYING:

"So, at around midnight today, the Munich police were alerted by a witness who saw incendiary devices being thrown from a car on Muehldorfstraße (street name). This is a building complex housing several defence companies. The witness reacted very well. He made a mental note of what sort of car it was and was able to describe it clearly. The Munich police arrived on the scene very quickly and were able to extinguish one of the incendiary devices straight away. And as part of the extensive manhunt that was then launched, the car was located at a petrol station on Innsbrucker Ring (street name), where the two individuals were also spotted. The two individuals were then arrested there. They are a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both Bulgarian nationals."

18. WALDINGER GIVING INTERVIEW

19. (SOUNDBITE) (German), LUDWIG WALDINGER, SPOKESPERSON BAVARIAN STATE CRIMINAL POLICE OFFICE ("BAYERISCHES LANDESKRIMINALAMT"), SAYING:

"Yes, given that there are several defence companies in the building complex, one simply has to assume – and this is the situation we find ourselves in at the moment – that there is a political motive here, and that this may well be a political attack. And that is why we, as the State Criminal Police Office, have taken over the investigation, together, of course, with the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office."

20. VARIOUS OF GAS STATION WHERE ARRESTS OF SUSPECTS SUPPOSEDLY TOOK PLACE