Dortmund Attack: Police Investigate Islamist Link

German police are investigating a possible Islamic extremist link to the bombing of the Borussia Dortmund football team’s bus

Three minor explosions hit the team bus of Borussia Dortmund footballers on Tuesday, police said, hours before a Champions League quarter-final in the northwestern city. Player Marc Bartra was injured as the windows of the coach were blown in. The fixture against Monaco was postponed.

German police are investigating a possible Islamic extremist link to the bombing of the Borussia Dortmund football team’s bus, German media say. A letter found near the scene references the Berlin Christmas market attack and military operations in Syria. It is not yet clear if the letter is genuine.

Who is behind the attack?

Despite the apparent claim of an Islamic motive, the attack does not have much in common with previous incidents of that type, the BBC’s correspondent in Berlin, Damien McGuinness, said. The explosives were not designed to cause maximum damage in a crowd, as in other attacks – or to target the stadium itself, which is several kilometres away from the site.

“One possibility could be that it was a German right-wing extremist attack,” he said.

“This team, Borussia Dortmund, has been plagued recently with violent, far-right hooliganism. A recent clampdown on far right extremists has led to stadium bans, which then resulted to death threats in February for one manager,” he adds.

The letter found at the scene is being authenticated, and police say it claims responsibility – but have not yet released details about its contents.

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