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Borussia Dortmund blasts: suspect 'from Islamist spectrum' detained Borussia Dortmund blasts: suspect 'from Islamist spectrum' detained
(about 2 hours later)
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”. German police investigating a pipe bomb attack on a bus transporting the Borussia Dortmund football team to a Champions League match have detained one suspect and are searching for another, both described by prosecutors as having 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. The suspects are believed to be a 25 year old Iraqi from the western city of Wuppertal and a 28 year old German from Fröndenberg, 40 km (25 miles) east of Dortmund. At least one of the men is believed to have been in the vicinity when the attack happened on Tuesday night.
“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.” Three explosives used in the attack were hidden in a hedge and remotely detonated as the bus left the team’s hotel on Tuesday evening and headed for the stadium in Dortmund 10 km (6 miles) away for the quarter final match against AS Monaco.
One Dortmund player, defender Marc Bartra, 26, from Spain, was hit by shards of glass. A police officer accompanying the bus in a convoy of motorbikes was also injured. Federal prosecutors, who took over the investigation after it became clear the football team had been deliberately targeted in a terror attack, said pipe bombs had exploded, showering their sharp metal contents over a 100 metre radius and smashing the windows at the back of the bus.
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-final against AS Monaco. The 26-year-old defender Marco Bartra was injured when shrapnel lodged into his arm.
Köhler said three letters had been found near the scene, all of which suggested a possible radical Islamic motive. She said the messages 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. The Spaniard, who had been sitting towards the back of the bus, underwent an emergency operation for a fractured radial bone on the wrist of his right arm. On Wednesday he posted on Instagram to say he was recovering well. A policeman accompanying the bus in a motorcycle patrol was also injured.
Köhler also referred to an online claim of responsibility by an anti-fascist group, but said there was serious doubt about its validity. Hola a todos! Como veis ya estoy mucho mejor, muchas gracias a todo el mundo por los mensajes de apoyo! Toda mi fuerza a mis compañeros, afición y todo el @bvb09 para el partido de esta noche! #HejaBVB Hello everybody! As you can see I am doing much better. Thank you everybody for all your support and your messages! All my strength to my team mates, supporters and fans and to @bvb09 for tonight's match! #HejaBVB
Federal prosecutors – who typically handle especially serious cases, including those with a suspected terrorist motive – took over the investigation on Wednesday morning. Ralf Jäger, the interior minister in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which includes Dortmund, said the investigation was looking “in all directions”. A post shared by Marc Bartra (@marcbartra) on Apr 12, 2017 at 7:04am PDT
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. Frauke Köhler, a spokeswoman for prosecutors, said a piece of metal from one of the bombs had penetrated the headrest of one of the seats. “We can say it was lucky that nothing worse happened,” she said.
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. Players ducked when the explosions went off. Some threw themselves onto the floor.
“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.” Goalkeeper Roman Bürki, who was sitting near Bartra on the bus, told the Swiss newspaper Blick: “The bus turned onto the main road, when there was a huge bang – a proper explosion. I sat on the very back seat close to Marc Bartra who was hit by splinters from the shattered back window.”
Bartra had surgery for a broken wrist and appeared to be recovering well on Wednesday. In a post on the club’s Twitter account, a photo showed him with his arm bandaged and giving a thumbs up. He thanked fans for their messages of support and said he was feeling much better. “After the bang we all ducked down in the bus and whoever was able to, lay down on the floor. We didn’t know if more was to happen. The police got there quickly and secured everything. We’re all shocked.”
👍 @MarcBartra via Instagram. #bvbasm pic.twitter.com/If26ElzpDk A spokesman for the German chancellor Angela Merkel said she was dismayed by the attack, which prompted authorities to postpone the match until Wednesday evening.
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.” Some sports commentators were highly critical that the match was rescheduled so soon, arguing the players were still in a deep state of shock.
Sascha Fligge, the club’s spokesman, said: “Shortly after leaving the car park there was a detonation … The team heard a loud bang. But Dortmund’s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said there was “no alternative” other than to hold the match less than 24 hours after the attack. “The tight schedule between the quarter and semi final [of the Champions League] leaves us with no alternative”. Players were said to have been given the option not to play.
“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. Three claims of responsibility were made for the attack, suggesting a radical Islamic motive, an anti-fascist motive, or a far-right motive. Köhler said that there was serious doubt over the anti-fascist’s group’s claim, and suggested that although no conclusions had been drawn, more weight was being given by investigators to letters found close to the scene of the attack, all of which suggested it was the work of Islamic terrorists.
“The players had quite different reactions; some threw themselves to the floor, others simply ducked and everyone was totally shocked.” Ralf Jäger, interior minister of North Rhine Westphalia state, which includes Dortmund, said the investigation was “looking in all directions” and that “we are still completely in the dark as to the background to this”. Jäger is still under pressure after the Berlin Christmas market attacker was able to slip through the net in his state, despite several alarm bells having been run over his links to terror.
The match has been postponed until 6.45pm on Wednesday. Police said “as many officers as possible” would be deployed for the rescheduled game, which will have increased security measures. The correspondence claiming a radical Islamic motive said the attack had been carried out “in the name of Allah the gracious, the merciful one”. It made reference to the Christmas market attack and accused German tornadoes in operation in Syria of involvement in killing Muslims in the Islamic State caliphate. It also called for the closure of the US base at Ramstein in western Germany.
Fans have been told to expect longer waiting times to enter the stadium and to leave backpacks at home or risk being turned away. It warned that until German tornadoes were withdrawn from the military campaign against Isis and the US airforce base was closed, “sports people, and other prominent people in Germany and other crusade nations will be put on an Islamic State death list”.
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. An online post by an anti-fascist group appeared to claim the attack had been a punishment for Borussia Dortmund’s failure to deal with its long-standing problem of far-right fans. But prosecutors said they was “considerable doubt” as to the post’s authenticity.
He said in a statement: “It is important to me personally and in my position as DFB president to be in Dortmund to show that all German football is united with BVB [the football club].” After being escorted away from the scene of the attack by armed police on Tuesday, the team and managers united again on Wednesday morning for a session at the Dortmund training ground to prepare for what some football commentators described as the most difficult task of their footballing careers.
Leading German politicians are also expected to attend, including the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière. “I have just delivered an appeal to the team in the changing rooms that they should show society that we will not be cowed by terror,” Watzke said later in the day.
Monaco fans left facing an extra night in Germany were offered accommodation by thousands of Dortmund supporters via the hashtag bedforawayfans on social media, while the club said on Twitter that all their fans staying in Dortmund on Tuesday night would be reimbursed up to €80 (£68). “We are not playing for ourselves today,” he said. “We are playing for everyone, regardless of whether we’re Borusse, Bayer or Schalker [referring to rival teams]. We want to show that terror and hate will never determine our behaviour. And of course we’re playing for Marc Bartra who wants to see his team win.”
AS Monaco’s vice-president, Vadim Vasilyev, described the attack as “despicable” and said: “Football should not be taken hostage by these individuals.” Bartra, who came to Dortmund from Barcelona for €8m last year, is likely to be out of action for the rest of the season.
Speaking on the club website, he emphasised his support for Dortmund and Bartra, praised Monaco fans for their “exemplary behaviour” and thanked German supporters for their “generosity”. His father and mother, José Bartra and Montserrat Aregall told Spanish television: “Marc’s doing well, even though his skull is buzzing. He told us we should stay calm because everything would be alright. The first thing he heard was a loud bang. First his head hurt, then his arm. He didn’t know what was going on. The bang made him dizzy for five minutes.”
“We will help our players to get through this situation. Football will be stronger than this type of ignoble act,” he said. Jäger urged fans heading to Wednesday night’s rescheduled game to expect longer than normal waiting times and to leave backpacks at home. Drones and sniffer dogs searched the stadium ahead of the match.
Airline Eurowings has offered fans affected by the postponement the chance to transfer their flights free. Thousands of Dortmund supporters offered accommodation to AS Monaco fans who had expected to be travelling home, enabling them to be at the rescheduled match. The offers were spread on social media under the hashtag #bedforawayfans.
Uefa said there had been no specific intelligence regarding any threat to Wednesday’s matches, including Leicester City v Atlético Madrid. Giorgio Marchetti, Uefa’s competitions director, told Reuters it was the first such incident the European soccer body had had to deal with, adding that clubs had been asked to review their security arrangements. Vadim Vasilyev, vice-president of AS Monaco, thanked German fans for their “generosity” on his club’s website. He described the attack as “despicable” and said “football should not be taken hostage by these individuals”.
Reuters contributed to this report Leading politicians were expected to attend the rescheduled match to show solidarity, including justice minister Heiko Maas, who tweeted: “We won’t let football be abused by cowardly criminals”.