German authorities investigating explosions beside a bus carrying the Borussia Dortmund football team say they have detained a suspect with what prosecutors described as links to “the Islamist spectrum”.
The explosives used in the attack were pipe bombs with a 100-metre range, said Frauke Köhler, a spokeswoman for Germany’s federal state prosecutor in Karlsruhe. A metal part from one of the bombs had lodged in the headrest of one of the seats. “The consequences could have been far worse,” she said.
“Two suspects from the Islamist spectrum have become the focus of our investigation,” Köhler said. “Both of their apartments were searched, and one of the two has been detained.”
One Dortmund player, 26-year-old defender Marc Bartra, from Spain, was hit by shards of glass and had surgery for a broken wrist. He was said to be recovering well. A police officer accompanying the bus in a convoy of police motorbikes was also injured.
A spokesman for the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said she was appalled by the attack on Tuesday evening, which forced the postponement of Dortmund’s Champions League quarter-file against AS Monaco.
Köhler said three letters had been found near the scene, all of which suggested a possible radical Islamic motive. She said the messaged referred to German reconnaissance planes deployed as part of the military campaign against Islamic State in Syria, and called for the closure of the US military base at Ramstein in western Germany.
Köhler also referred to an online claim of responsibility by an anti-fascist group but said there was serious doubt about its validity.
Federal prosecutors – who typically handle especially serious cases, including those with a suspected terrorist motive – took over the investigation on Wednesday morning. Ralf Jäger, interior minister in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which includes Dortmund, said the investigation was looking “in all directions”.
The incident occurred at about 7.15pm (1815 BST) in Dortmund’s Höchstem district, approximately six miles (10km) from the club’s stadium, where they were due to play against Monaco.
Police confirmed there were three explosions, breaking some of the bus’s windows. Borussia Dortmund’s chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, said the coach had just left the players’ hotel and turned on to the road where the bombs were hidden behind a hedge.
“Bartra was injured, on his hand and his arm, but nothing that would be life-threatening,” Watzke said. “The team is in complete shock. Our task is to process this experience, because the match is taking place in less than 24 hours. That’s our job.”
The Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Bürki told Swiss newspaper Blick: “I was sat in the back row next to Marc Bartra, who was hit by the shards of the burst back window. After the bang everyone in the bus got their heads down. We didn’t know whether there would be more. The police arrived quickly, sealed everything off. We are all in shock.”
Sascha Fligge, the club’s spokesman, said: “Shortly after leaving the car park there was a detonation … the team heard a loud bang.
“Marcel Schmelzer said to me, ‘Why is someone throwing a stone again on game day?’ We had that happen, I think, during an away game in Cologne that a big stone hit the window. But it transpired quickly for the players – especially because Marc Bartra loudly called for attention for obvious reasons – that it wasn’t a stone.
“The players had quite different reactions, some threw themselves to the floor, others simply ducked and everyone was totally shocked.”
The match has been postponed until 6.45pm (1745 BST) on Wednesday. Police said “as many officers as possible” would be deployed for the rescheduled game, which will have increased security measures.
Fans have been told to expect longer waiting times to enter the stadium and to leave backpacks at home or risk being turned away.
The German Football Association (DFB) president, Reinhard Grindel, who had planned to attend Wednesday night’s clash between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, will now be at the Dortmund-Monaco game.
He said in a statement: “It is important to me personally and in my position as DFB president to be in Dortmund today to show that all German football is united with BVB [the football club].”
Leading German politicians are also expected to attend, including interior minister Thomas de Maizière.
Monaco fans left facing an extra night in Germany were offered accommodation by thousands of Dortmund fans via the hashtag bedforawayfans on social media, while the club said on Twitter that all their supporters staying in Dortmund on Tuesday night would be reimbursed up to €80 (£68).
AS Monaco’s vice-president, Vadim Vasilyev, described the attack as “despicable” and said: “Football should not be taken hostage by these individuals.”
Speaking on the club website, he emphasised his support for Dortmund and Bartra, praised Monaco fans for their “exemplary behaviour” and thanked German fans for their “generosity”.
He added: “We will help our players to get through this situation. Football will be stronger than this type of ignoble act.”
Airline Eurowings has offered fans affected by the postponement the chance to transfer their flights for free.
Uefa said there had been no specific intelligence regarding any threat to Wednesday’s matches, including Leicester City v Atletico Madrid. Giorgio Marchetti, Uefa’s competitions director, told Reuters it was the first such incident the European soccer body had to deal with, adding that clubs had been asked to review their security arrangements.
Source : Guardian.com
