German security alert sparks row

Some suggest the terror alert has been overplayed for political gain

Security remains tight around a Hamburg military hospital, amid a row over the security operation.

German Interior Minister Otto Schily criticised local authorities for acting "prematurely" on a warning that Islamic militants were planning an attack.

But local officials have defended their decision to seal off the hospital.

They said they had received concrete information about the threat, and the city's recent history with terrorists underlined the need to react quickly.

"Both the federal and state branches of the German Agency for Internal Security informed us in writing about the concrete risk of a terror attack," Hamburg's Minister for Internal Affairs, Dirk Nockemann, said in a statement.

"Mr Schily should first obtain information from his own federal authorities before making rash statements."

Authorities say the hospital will remain sealed off for at least three days. Anti-immigration

It is unfortunate that the indications were prematurely revealed in public making it more difficult to follow up on them Otto Schily German Interior Minister

Mr Schily said he feared that as the warning was "prematurely revealed in public" it would make a successful investigation more difficult.

Some newspaper reports have suggested that the announcement of the security alert could be linked to Hamburg's upcoming elections.

Mr Nockemann has been accused of overplaying the event to highlight his policies.

His party - the Law and Order Offensive Party - came to power in Hamburg on a platform of anti-immigration measures and increased security following the 11 September attacks.

On Tuesday, more than 100 police officers wearing bullet-proof vests, and dozens of armoured police vehicles, were sent in to block off streets surrounding the hospital.

Ansar al-Islam

The threat against the hospital is thought to have come from the militant group Ansar al-Islam, based in northern Iraq.

Two members of the group were said to be planning to detonate a car bomb outside the hospital.

German officials said the men, thought to be of Middle Eastern origin, travelled to the country in early December to carry out the suicide attack.

US officials have accused Ansar al-Islam of having links to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

So far nothing suspicious has been found at the hospital but police said they would remain on high alert.