By Kim McLaughlin

COPENHAGEN, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Terrorism experts said on Wednesday the arrest in Copenhagen of eight Muslims suspected of links to al Qaeda may be the first sign that militants have Denmark in their sights.

The eight were detained on Tuesday on suspicion of planning a bomb attack.

"It's the first time that Danish police said suspects had direct contact with international terror networks. Previously they were more like sympathisers," said Jakob Feldt, a Middle East studies professor at the University of Southern Denmark.

"We should consider this to be the closest we've been to a terror attack."

In Berlin, Germany authorities said on Wednesday they had foiled a plan by Islamist militants to carry out "massive bomb attacks" against U.S. installations and arrested three men. There was no indication of any link with the Danish arrests.

Denmark angered Muslims in 2006 when published cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammad prompted vandalism to Danish embassies abroad and demonstrations across the Middle East.

It has also attracted attention with its military involvement in Iraq and a crackdown on asylum seekers, Magnus Ranstorp, terrorism expert at the Swedish National Defence College, said.

Two of the eight suspects, who police said ranged in age from 19 to 29, were remanded in custody for 27 days, charged with plotting one or more attacks in Denmark or abroad.

The remaining six were released but police say they still face preliminary charges.

The arrests mark the third time in two years Danish police say they have uncovered a plot under anti-terrorism laws.

"If the security police are right in their assessment of the eight people arrested on Tuesday, it indicates that a potential act of terror in Denmark will be based on a decision in Pakistan, for example. That's a scary thought," Danish daily Jylland-Posten wrote in an editorial.

The eight suspects came from Afghan, Pakistani, Somali and Turkish backgrounds. Six are Danish citizens.

The two still in custody were not identified by police. Danish media said they were a 21-year-old taxi driver of Pakistani origin and a painter of Afghan origin, also 21.

Police were silent on the intended targets of the alleged attacks. Danish daily Ekstrabladet, citing sources close to the investigation, said one was Norreport station -- Denmark's busiest transportation hub which sees 300,000 commuters a day.

Police said explosives-making materials had been found, but did not say if actual explosives had been discovered.

(Additional reporting by Martin Burlund and Gelu Sulugiuc)

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