Germany placed on high alert after two bombs detonated in Dresden

DIY bomb: A homemade explosive went off outside a Dresden mosque
Sebastian Kahnert/ dpa via AP
Alan Hall27 September 2016

Germany is on high alert today after two bombs were detonated in the eastern city of Dresden.

One went off outside the entrance to a local mosque, the other outside a congress hall. No-one was hurt in the blasts.

“Although so far noone has claimed responsibility, we believe a xenophobic motive lies behind these crimes,” said Dresden police chief Horst Kretzschmar.

He added: “We also see a connection to the Unification Day ceremonies due to take place this weekend.”

The day marks the annivesary of East and West Germany becoming one state shortly after the fall of communism in 1989.

Police have for long warned that neo-Nazis in Germany have been forming themselves into well armed paramilitary cells.

The DIY bomb at the mosque went off at 9.57pm, at the congress at 10.19pm.

Police confirmed the discovery of home made explosives at the two crime scenes.

“Now we working in crisis mode”, the police chief added. The police’s main mission, he said, was to protect the affected mosque in the Dresden district of Cotta as well as stepping up security at more mosques in the city.

An Islamic centre in Cotta would be “intensively guarded,” he added.

Dresden is the capital of the state of Saxony, scene of repeated attacks against foreigners and refugee centres since the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants into Germany began in earnest last year.

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