FBI says no imminent threat in U.S. from German plot

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American authorities see no imminent threat in the United States following the arrest in Germany of three men accused of being behind a plan by Islamist militants to launch bomb attacks, the FBI said on Wednesday.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said his agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were monitoring the situation in Germany.

"We see no imminent threat to the U.S. domestically following these arrests. We have been closely coordinating with the Germans on this case," Kolko said.

German federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the men, two German nationals and one Turk, had been seen scouting U.S. military facilities.

The plot is a reminder of the continuing threat posed by Islamist extremists, U.S. officials said.

"You have groups of fighters who are collecting in Pakistan .... and other parts of South Asia, and in Iraq, frankly, looking for safe havens in which they can train," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the House Committee on Homeland Security.

"And the more space they get, the more attempts we're going to see, as we've seen in Denmark or in Germany," he said.

A State Department spokesman said he was not aware of any new security measures at overseas facilities as a result of the arrests.

"Our embassies are open for business, as are all our consulates," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.

(Additional reporting by Randall Mikkelsen and Sue Pleming)