Despite German intelligence saying that it knew nothing of a secret CIA group operating in Hamburg, it is not necessarily the case, said investigative journalist Wayne Madsen.
"Certainly, the federal German intelligence office in Hamburg is saying that it comes as a shock to them,” he said. “This is standard to say ‘we had no idea this was going on.’”
Madsen added that the idea would not contradict the general mood in the Merkel government either.
“With the Christian Democrats being conservative and pro-US, I do not see any problem there,” he said.
Reports in the German media quoting Vanity Fair magazine say that a CIA hit team was operating in the German city of Hamburg targeting Al Qaeda suspect Mahmoun Darkazanli, a German-Syrian businessman.
The article in the American magazine said that the group, which did not notify the German authorities of its presence and mission, was following the businessman for weeks until the assassination was called off.