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View Full Version : German authorities investigating Dortmund blasts 'in all directions'



Teh One Who Knocks
04-12-2017, 10:48 AM
The Associated Press


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DORTMUND, Germany – German police said Wednesday they are investigating "in all directions" after three explosions went off near Borussia Dortmund's team bus ahead of a Champions League quarterfinal match, injuring one of the soccer team's players.

The first-leg match against Monaco was called off shortly before kickoff Tuesday evening following the blasts near the team hotel in suburban Dortmund, which authorities assume were a targeted attack. Players and police were preparing to go ahead with the rescheduled match on Wednesday evening, with heavy security in place.

Investigators were checking the authenticity of a letter claiming responsibility that they found near the scene, and were refusing to give any details of its contents, citing the ongoing probe. Another suspicious object found at the scene turned out to be trash.

Police spokeswoman Nina Vogt told ZDF television that "of course our investigations have to go in all directions to begin with." She said the direction of the probe remains "open."

Spanish defender Marc Bartra suffered injuries in the wrist and arm and underwent an operation Tuesday night. Police said an officer who was accompanying the bus on a motorbike was suffering from blast trauma and shock.

Borussia Dortmund president Reinhard Rauball said he was confident that the team would rise to the occasion for Wednesday's match despite the experience.

"How is the team doing? You can imagine yourself whether they slept well or badly," he said. The players were to gather Wednesday morning to digest Tuesday's events and prepare to face Monaco.

"This is certainly a difficult situation for the team which, I think, has not experienced such a situation before," he said. "However, we expect and I am confident that the team will do its best and deliver a spectacle in the Champions League this evening."

Teh One Who Knocks
04-12-2017, 02:07 PM
ESPN Staff Report and The Associated Press


German federal prosecutors investigating the three explosions that hit the Borussia Dortmund team bus on Tuesday night said they had detained a suspect.

At a news conference on Wednesday, spokesperson Frauke Kohler said a letter found near the scene suggested a possible Islamist extremist motive.

She said two suspects from the "Islamist spectrum" were currently at the centre of the investigation. Their flats were searched and one person detained.

The Office of the Attorney General of Germany is investigating after the explosions rocked the Dortmund bus as it drove to their home stadium for a Champions League match against Monaco, injuring defender Marc Bartra and causing the game to be postponed.

The letter found at the scene of the blasts demands the withdrawal of German Tornado reconnaissance jets from Turkey and the closure of the United States' Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Officials are still evaluating its credibility, Kohler said, adding that the authorities had "significant doubts" about an online claim of a left-wing extremist motive.

"It is to be assumed that there is a terror background," a Federal Prosecutor's office statement said. "The motives are yet unclear.

"There were three claims of responsibility near the scene of the attack. They all had the same content, and an Islamist background can't be ruled out at this point.

"Two suspects from the Islamist scene have been in the focus of our investigations. We raided their flats, and one has been detained temporarily.

"It is currently being considered to issue an arrest warrant."

Tobias Plate, a spokesman for Germany's interior ministry, said notes claiming responsibility at the scene had not been a feature of previous Islamist attacks.

The statement said the explosive devices used "were armed with metal pins, one of them drilling itself into one of the headrests of a seat. We can be thankful that nothing more serious happened."

It said the explosive power was "up to 100 metres."

Speaking earlier, the region's leading security official raised the possibility that the note found at the scene could be "an attempt to lay a false trail."

"We are investigating in every direction," Ralf Jager, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, said.

"It could be left-wing extremism or right-wing extremism. It could be the violent fan scene, it could be Islamist extremism."

Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, called the explosions "a repugnant act" and said Merkel had spoken to club officials.

Seibert added that the chancellor had been "dismayed" by the attack.

Dortmund confirmed Bartra had suffered a broken wrist, while police in the city said an officer who was escorting the bus was also injured in the blasts.

Borussia Dortmund president Reinhard Rauball said Wednesday's rescheduled match would be a challenge for the players but added: "I am confident that the team will do its best and deliver a spectacle in the Champions League this evening."

German police have put extra security measures in place ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League quarterfinal at Bayern Munich.

UEFA said security was being reviewed at all three of Wednesday's Champions League games.

Muddy
04-12-2017, 02:44 PM
"fahrt man"..

RBP
04-13-2017, 02:11 AM
"fahrt man"..

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