Bomb attacks hit a mosque and a congress center in the eastern German city of Dresden, police said Tuesday, adding that they suspected a xenophobic and nationalist motive.
No-one was injured in the blasts late Monday in a city which has become a hotspot for far-right protests amid Germany’s huge migrant influx.
“Although no-one has claimed the attack, we assume a xenophobic motive,” said Dresden police chief Horst Kretzschmar.
“We also suspect a connection with celebrations next weekend for the Day of German Unity” on Monday, October 3.
The home-made bombs went off around 20:00 GMT and damaged the door of the mosque while the imam and his family were inside, forcing the partial evacuation of the hotel at the city’s international congress center.
In an annual report outlining progress since reunification, the government warned last week that growing xenophobia and right-wing extremism could threaten peace in eastern Germany.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the mosque attack was “all the more scandalous” because it happened on the eve of the 10th annual meeting of the dialogue forum the German Islam Conference.
Source: AFP
