In November, for example, French police detained 80 persons tied to Algeria's Armed Islamic Group. French police also arrested several members of the Basque terrorist organization ETA, including the group's second-highest ranking member, in three separate incidents during the year. In December, a French court convicted two Iranians of involvement in the murder of former Iranian Prime Minister Bakhtiar in 1991. A third defendant, an Iranian Embassy employee, was acquitted. On 26 December, France's National Gendarmerie Action Group stormed an Air France plane hijacked from Algiers to Marseille, killing the four hijackers and rescuing 170 passengers and crew.
German authorities believe the two pose no further terrorist threat.
Another RAF member, Birgit Hogefeld, went on trial in November for her part in a number of attacks, including a bombing at a US airbase in Frankfurt in 1985 that killed a US soldier. Several smaller leftwing factions resumed operations. Unidentified leftwing terrorists, probably on the RAF periphery, bombed offices of the ruling political parties in two cities in September. Rightwing extremist attacks continued to decline last year. The most significant incident took place on 12 May, when at least 50 youths chased five foreigners through the streets of Magdeburg.