Suspect arrested over explosion at mosque in Germany


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have arrested a man suspected of setting off homemade explosive devices outside a mosque and a conference center in Dresden in September, prosecutors said Friday.

The 29-year-old man from Dresden was arrested on Thursday. Authorities also seized objects that could be used to make explosives, and DNA evidence linked the suspect to the blasts, prosecutors said.

The entrance of the Fatih Camii mosque was damaged in the explosion on Sept. 26. An imam with his wife and two sons were inside at the time, but weren't hurt.

The second device exploded shortly afterward on a terrace between a hotel and a conference center. The man is also suspected to have placed a fake bomb on a bridge in Dresden three days later.

The explosions came a few days before events marking Germany's national day in Dresden, where the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement is based.

The Bild daily reported that the suspect had appeared as a speaker at a PEGIDA event in the summer of 2015.

The head of the regional police office responsible for extremism, Bernd Merbitz, said that "we are also aware of that," news agency dpa reported. He didn't give further details.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent World stories

Related topics

World
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast