Germany says shooting of US airmen a solo act

Prosecutors investigating the shooting deaths of two US airmen at Frankfurt airport this week said on Friday that the crime was the work of an individual and not a militant network.

The gunman, Arid Uka, had confessed to firing on the airmen at point-blank range with a 9mm pistol, killing two and wounding two others, federal prosecutor Rainer Griesbaum told a televised news conference in Karlsruhe, western Germany.

The 21-year Kosovo national had been charged with murder and attempted murder.

"He wanted revenge for the US operations in Afghanistan," Griesbaum said, adding that the gunman said he wanted to prevent the soldiers from committing crimes against civilians.

"Preliminary evaluations and evidence show it was the act of an Islamist-inspired single perpetrator," Griesbaum said.

"There is no evidence at the moment the act was coordinated with others or that he was a member of a terrorist organisation."