Police call attack on Dresden mosque xenophobically motivated

Record ID: 85361

  • Title: Police call attack on Dresden mosque xenophobically motivated
  • Date: 27th September 2016
  • Summary: DRESDEN, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 27, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** DRESDEN SKYLINE/DAMAGED CONGRESS CENTRE DAMAGED GLASS AT CONGRESS CENTRE DAMAGED GLASS WITH POLICE CORDON VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF POLICE STATION SAXONY INTERIOR MINISTER MARKUS ULBIG, DRESDEN MAYOR DIRK HILBERT AND DRESDEN CHIEF OF POLICE HORST KRETZSCHMAR ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA ULBIG, HILBERT AND KRETZSCHMAR AHEAD OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) SAXONY INTERIOR MINISTER, MARKUS ULBIG, SAYING: "I was there myself this morning, at the mosque, where I spoke to the Imam and his family and can say to you, that when you are standing in front of the door and you know that behind the door, where the explosives were left, there was a family with two children, then you can only respond by condemning the attack. It must also be clearly called an attack and it is a cowardly attack and it is the job of the police to use all their resources to find the culprit or culprits quickly and to hand out a suitable punishment. It is important." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (German) SAXONY INTERIOR MINISTER, MARKUS ULBIG, SAYING: "A second explosive device went off at the congress centre. There, there was only - if you can say only - glass damage." PEOPLE LISTENING TO NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) DRESDEN MAYOR, DIRK HILBERT, SAYING: "Such an act is not a protest, and is not an expression of opinion. Such an attack is a crime. A crime that cannot be excused or relativised. It is an act that once again shows that individuals and groups are trying to challenge the state." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (German) DRESDEN CHIEF OF POLICE HORST KRETZSCHMAR, SAYING: "Both attacks are, in our opinion, linked. They happened roughly 30 minutes apart. Despite the fact that no one has so far taken responsibility for the attacks we have to assume that at least the first attack on the mosque had a xenophobic intention." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (German) DRESDEN CHIEF OF POLICE HORST KRETZSCHMAR, SAYING: "This national holiday, this German national holiday which is celebrating its 26th anniversary and has a symbolic value and sends a strong signal to the outside world - it is a large civilian festival with a large number of attendants - is of course a soft target for terrorists. This means that there is the possibility of a terrorist attack and it is if course an attractive stage for them." VARIOUS OF SECURITY MEASURES BEING PUT INTO PLACE AROUND DRESDEN VIEW OF DRESDEN ON RIVER ELBE
  • Embargoed: 12th October 2016 15:16
  • Keywords: bomb Dresden mosque congress centre Unification Day
  • Location: DRESDEN, GERMANY
  • City: DRESDEN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA00151CEVRB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Police in Dresden on Tuesday (September 27) said that at least one of two improvised bomb attacks in the eastern German city were xenophobically motivated.
    The two improvised bombs exploded on Monday evening (September 26) - one at a mosque and one at an international conference centre - but no one was injured, police said on Tuesday.
    At the time of the first explosion, the imam of the mosque was inside with his wife and sons but they were not hurt. Damage was, however, done to the building through pressure waves.
    Both the region's interior minister and Dresden's mayor called for swift police action and for the perpetrator to be punished.
    Police also believed there was a link to celebrations planned for the coming weekend in the city to mark the anniversary of German reunification on October 3, 1990.
    "This national holiday, this German national holiday which is celebrating its 26th anniversary and has a symbolic value and sends a strong signal to the outside world - it is a large civilian festival with a large number of attendants - is of course a soft target for terrorists. This means that there is the possibility of a terrorist attack and it is if course an attractive stage for them," Dresden's chief of police Horst Kretzschmar told a news conference.
    Dresden was the cradle of the anti-Islam PEGIDA grassroots movement whose weekly rallies attracted around 20,000 supporters at the height of its popularity at the start of 2015.
    The influx of about 1 million migrants to Germany last year has increased social tensions, especially in eastern Germany where there have been some high-profile attacks on refugee shelters.
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