Two home-made bombs hit a mosque and a conference center in
eastern Germany late Monday in what officials called a "xenophobic"
attack. Police evacuated the hotel bar and asked people to stay away from
windows at the hotel building.
The first blast occurred at 9:53 pm local time, outside a
mosque on Hühndorfer Strasse in the eastern neighborhood of Cotta. An imam was
inside the building at the time, along with his wife and two children. About
half an hour later, a second explosion was head outside the International
Congress Center, forcing police to evacuate the nearby Martim Hotel.
Although no one claimed responsibility for the incident, we
must have to consider a xenophobic motive for the attack," Horst
Kretzschmar, the city's police chief in Dresden said in a statement, adding that
police were on high alert. The second device exploded shortly after the first
on a terrace between a hotel and the International Congress Center, a facility
which can accommodate 6,000 people for conferences. The blast destroyed a
decorative glass block on the outdoor terrace.
Both attacks happened in the same time. Both attacks
happened in the same time. Although no one claimed responsibility for the
incident, He said police believed there was a link to celebrations planned for
the coming weekend in the city to mark the anniversary of German reunification
on Oct. 3, 1990.