Sabotage on the Düsseldorf-Cologne line: far-left group claims arson attack

In a statement published online and considered authentic by German authorities, a "Kommando Angry Birds" claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was responsible "für die Sabotage der Bahnstrecke nördlich von Leverkusen." The group presents itself, according to Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), as an "Industriegegner und Anti-Tech-Bewegung," hostile to industry and technology, which aspires to the "vollständige Zerschlagung des technologisch-industriellen Systems" — the complete crushing of the technological-industrial system — in the name of protecting nature.

An ideological claim posted online

As a motive for the attack, the group cited a "Massensterben" — a mass extinction — caused by a "technologische Eskalation," which it said needed to be stopped. The claim letter specified that time-delay incendiary devices had been placed in cable chambers along the track, according to elements reported by the regional press.

North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) strongly condemned the act. "Solche Taten sind kein Protest, sondern gezielte Sabotage," he declared, arguing that such acts do not constitute protest but deliberate sabotage. He added: "Und dann verüben sie einen Brandanschlag, ausgerechnet jetzt, wo überall Trockenheit herrscht" — and they commit an arson attack precisely now, when drought is everywhere.

The reaction of Minister Reul

Reul also accused the perpetrators of wanting chaos. "Allein daran sieht man: Diese Menschen wollen keine bessere Welt. Diese Chaoten berufen sich darauf, eine Welt herzustellen, in der es Pflanzen, Tieren und Menschen besser gehe. Das akzeptieren wir nicht." In his view, such attacks affect the daily lives of many people and accept "Kollateralschäden" — collateral damage — without scruples.

The minister also warned that the group's strategy was clear: "Sie zielen darauf ab, Politik durch Gewalt zu ersetzen" — they aim to replace politics with violence. Deutsche Bahn for its part indicated that the "aktuelle betriebliche Lage in NRW" — the current operational situation in North Rhine-Westphalia — was "sehr angespannt," meaning very tense.

A group already known to intelligence services

This is not the first act attributed to this group. According to available information, the "Kommando Angry Birds" had already claimed about a year ago an attack on the main railway line between Düsseldorf and Duisburg. Reul had stated at the beginning of August 2025: "Die hat in den letzten Jahren im Raum Düsseldorf schon mehrfach sabotiert" — it has already sabotaged multiple times in the Düsseldorf area in recent years.

The group is also suspected of other actions in the region. Attacks on telecommunications pylons in Langenfeld/Erkrath as well as a fire in a tunnel on the A46 motorway have been attributed to the same collective. In July 2025, incendiary devices had also been triggered in the region, according to the same sources.

In addition, a failed attack on an electrical substation had already been reported earlier, without the authorities confirming a formal link to the group at the time. Minister Reul had nevertheless warned against the "Kommando Angry Birds" as early as the previous year, highlighting the recurrence of sabotage in the Düsseldorf area.

The impact on rail traffic

Railway experts "arbeiten mit voller Kraft an der Reparatur der immensen Schäden" — are working at full capacity to repair the immense damage — Deutsche Bahn said in a statement. The company did not provide a timeline for the full restoration of traffic on this strategic corridor linking two of the major metropolises of western Germany.

The incident comes against a broader backdrop of critical infrastructure vulnerability in Germany. According to a news item mentioned in media coverage, some 100,000 people were left without heating or light in the middle of winter in the southwest of the German capital following an outage, underscoring the sensitivity of the country's energy and logistics network.

Ongoing investigation and official sources

German authorities are drawing on several sources to understand the movement: the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz), the North Rhine-Westphalia Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz NRW), the "Kommando Angry Birds" manifesto, and its claim letters. Minister Reul had also given an interview to WDR Aktuelle Stunde on July 11, 2026, on the eve of the attack.

On the ground, the investigation continues to identify the individuals responsible for the fire. On Saturday, suspicion fell on a criminal act after the discovery of a possible incendiary device, and then the claim letter appeared online. The authorities qualified the document as authentic, without revealing any details about the identity or number of people involved.

The Düsseldorf-Cologne line is one of the most heavily used rail corridors in North Rhine-Westphalia, connecting two urban areas of more than one million inhabitants each. Any prolonged interruption there triggers cascading disruptions across the regional and national network, affecting hundreds of thousands of travelers and cross-border commuters.

Minister Reul concluded by warning that such acts cannot be tolerated: "Das akzeptieren wir nicht." The Cologne police (Kölner Polizei) as well as railway security services have been mobilized to secure the area and conduct the investigation, in coordination with federal authorities.

Beyond the security aspect, the attack reignites the debate over the protection of transport infrastructure in Germany and the ability of intelligence services to anticipate the actions of far-left splinter groups, whose doctrine now blends radical ecology with hostility to technology.