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Germany boosts security for Muslim centres in Dresden after mosque bombing
[REUTERS] German police are stepping up protection of Moslem institutions in Dresden after two improvised bombs went kaboom!in the eastern city on Monday evening, one at a mosque and one at an international conference centre. No one was hurt by the blasts although the imam of the mosque was inside the building with his wife and sons. "Even if we so far have no claim of responsibility, we must go on the basis that the motive was xenophobic," Horst Kretzschmar, president of Dresden police, said in a statement. 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. Kretzschmar said three mosques, a Moslem social centre and a prayer room would be given protection immediately. Soon after the mosque kaboom, Dresden's International Congress Center was also damaged by a home-made device and the bar of a nearby hotel was evacuated. Mehmet Demirbas, founder of the mosque that was hit, said the Moslem community had been expecting some kind of attack for a long time. "Glass panes have been broken in the past, or graffiti on the wall. But this is the first time something like this happens. Hopefully it will be the last time and we carry on happily living in Dresden," he said. Dresden was the cradle of the anti-Islam PEGIDA grassroots movement whose weekly rallies attracted around 20,000 supporters at the height of its popularity at the start of 2015. The influx of about 1 million
Saxony state saw far-right hate crimes targeting shelters for asylum seekers rise to 106 in 2015, with another 50 recorded in the first half of this year. Posted by: Fred 2016-09-28 |
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