‘Islamists’ held over attack on German football team

Media from Germany has quoted the federal public prosecutor as saying that two men with an “Islamist background” were taken into custody by German investigators probing blasts against the team bus of football club Borussia Dortmund.

Frauke Koehler, a spokeswoman for Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Germany, also said a letter found at the site of the explosions demanded Germany withdraw Tornado aircraft from Syria, where they are used for reconnaissance and where the Islamic State is under attack from a multinational coalition trying to push it from its strongholds.

The letter also demanded what it termed “the closure of the Ramstein air base”, Koehler said, a reference to the main airport for US and Nato military forces in Germany.

The unusually specific set of demands came with no claim of responsibility, but it was being examined by experts in Islamic practices, Koehler said.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has taken charge of the investigation.

German news media described the suspects as a 25-year-old Iraqi man from Wuppertal town — about 40 miles from Dortmund — and a 28-yearold from Unna, just east of Dortmund.

Koehler also said a second document turned up on the website linksunten.indymedia.org hinting that a far-left group might be responsible for the attack. However, she said, “There are considerable doubts about this claim.”

Investigators had not determined exactly what type of detonator or what explosive was used, she said.

The bus was “heavily damaged” in the explosion on Tuesday, she said, and a more serious outcome had been narrowly avoided. A piece of metal said to be part of the explosive devices had lodged in the headrest of a seat on the bus, she said, but she did not specify whether that seat had been occupied.

Her statements suggested a planned attack on Europe’s most popular sport and a match between two of the Continent’s best teams, which would attract attention in its two biggest countries, Germany and France.

One player was injured in the explosion, the Spanish defender Marc Bartra. He has had surgery on his right wrist, and team officials said he was recovering.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, an avid football fan, condemned what she called the “repulsive act.”