Borussia Dortmund's team bus was attacked with explosives on Tuesday shortly before the start of their Champions League clash with AS Monaco, injuring defender Marc Bartra and forcing the match to be postponed by a day.
German police said on Tuesday they did not know who was behind the attack, in which three explosions went off at 7:15 p.m. near the hotel where the team was staying, but said the team appeared to be the target.
Prosecutors said a letter had been found near the scene of the blast, but declined to give details of its contents and said it was not clear whether it was authentic.
"At this time, it is still not clear what the real background to this act is," Dortmund police chief Gregor Lange told a late night news conference in the western German city.
Police earlier said there had been no risk to the Signal Iduna Park stadium, the largest in Germany, holding more than 80,000 fans, where the first leg of the quarter-final of Europe's top club soccer competition was due to have been played.
Lange said police assumed the team bus was deliberately targeted in the attack as it left the team hotel on the way to the stadium.
The devices were placed in a bush alongside the street, Bild newspaper reported, without giving a source. A police spokesman had earlier said "the explosive devices were placed outside the bus".
Windows on the bus were broken but the damage was limited.
Dortmund police said earlier on Twitter: "After the initial investigation, we assume that this was an attack using serious explosives."
While the motive was unclear, it revived memories of the November 2015 attacks in Paris that targeted entertainment venues including the Stade de France where France were playing Germany in a soccer friendly.
A deadly truck attack at a Berlin Christmas market in December killed 12 people - putting the issue of security at the heart of the national election on Sept. 24, in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is running in a tight battle for a fourth term.
"The risk of a terrorist attack is not new today," Lange said.
"We have been preparing for this for a long time. I do not want to suggest that this was a terrorist attack. All that is still being investigated. We want to be careful. It is being investigated very professionally."
German interior minister Thomas de Maziere said on Twitter: "My thoughts are with the team. It's important now to get to the bottom of this. I hope that football will be the focus again tomorrow."
LETTER FOUND
State prosecutor Sandra Luecke said the letter found near the blast site was being examined. She declined to provide details about the contents of the letter.
"The investigation is at this time is for attempted manslaughter. A letter was found near the scene of the crime. The authenticity of the letter is being examined," she said.
Terrorism expert Davis Lewin told Bild that the explosive devices appeared to have been "quite weak".
"That doesn't really fit in with the strategy of Islamist attacks, which until now have gone for large numbers of victims such as in the (truck) attacks in Nice and Berlin," he said.
"On the other hand, terror organisations like ISIS have called upon their followers to go out with home-made bombs. It wouldn't be the first time that something didn't work out the way it was planned. It's just too early to tell what's behind this attack."
A spokesman for Borussia Dortmund said the injured player, Bartra, was being operated on for a broken bone in his right wrist and shrapnel in his arm.
"The bus turned into the main street, when there was a huge boom, a real explosion," Sky television quoted Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki as saying.
"I was sitting in the back row next to Marc Bartra, hit by fragments ... after the bang, we all ducked."
Bartra, 26, joined Dortmund for 8 million euros ($8.5 million) last year from Barcelona, after coming through the Catalan club's youth system. He has made 12 appearances for the Spanish national team.
Borussia Dortmund's managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke said: "The whole team is in a state of shock."
The stadium emptied quickly and without incident.
AS Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic told Croatian newspaper 24sata: "We are currently in the stadium, in a safe place, but the feeling's horrible."
Dortmund and UEFA said the match would go ahead on Wednesday at 1645 GMT.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said: "I was deeply disturbed by the explosions which occurred tonight in Dortmund."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “The thoughts of every one of us at FIFA are with the people of Dortmund, and the fans of both Borussia Dortmund and Monaco following today’s troubling events."
Reuters
Wed Apr 12 2017
![Blasts hit Borussia Dortmund team bus, leaving player hurt Blasts hit Borussia Dortmund team bus, leaving player hurt](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2017-04/81491956141_Dortmund.jpg)
Borussia Dortmund's Felix Passlack with Police after an explosion by the Borussia Dortmund team bus near their hotel before the game. - REUTERS pic
![MCMC bakal lancar Kempen Kesedaran Keselamatan Dalam Talian - Teo MCMC bakal lancar Kempen Kesedaran Keselamatan Dalam Talian - Teo](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/61719727105_TeoNieChing.jpg)
MCMC bakal lancar Kempen Kesedaran Keselamatan Dalam Talian - Teo
Kementerian Komunikasi melalui Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (MCMC) bakal melancarkan Kempen Kesedaran Keselamatan Dalam Talian yang komprehensif dalam masa terdekat.
![Nenggiri miliki potensi jadi destinasi ekopelancongan Nenggiri miliki potensi jadi destinasi ekopelancongan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723703023_DunNenggiriekope.jpg)
Nenggiri miliki potensi jadi destinasi ekopelancongan
Pemandangan suasana pergunungan dalam kawasan Nenggiri yang dihiasi landskap menarik sering mengundang kunjungan pelawat untuk menikmati keindahannya, kata Malim Gunung Mohamad Saifful Rizal Jusoh.
![Pemenang emas Olimpik Indonesia Rizki Juniansyah ditawar kerja kerajaan Pemenang emas Olimpik Indonesia Rizki Juniansyah ditawar kerja kerajaan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723726414_TBRizkiJuniansyah.jpg)
Pemenang emas Olimpik Indonesia Rizki Juniansyah ditawar kerja kerajaan
Rizki Juniansyah, yang memenangi pingat emas dalam acara angkat berat 73kg lelaki di Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024 telah menerima tawaran pekerjaan daripada Kementerian Belia dan Sukan Indonesia.
![Rusia kosongkan lebih banyak kawasan di Kursk berikutan pencerobohan Ukraine Rusia kosongkan lebih banyak kawasan di Kursk berikutan pencerobohan Ukraine](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723726901_TBMissile.jpg)
Rusia kosongkan lebih banyak kawasan di Kursk berikutan pencerobohan Ukraine
Daerah itu mempunyai lebih 17,500 penduduk berdaftar sebelum Rusia melancarkan pencerobohan besar-besaran ke atas Ukraine pada Februari 2022.
![Ringgit ditutup rendah berbanding dolar AS Ringgit ditutup rendah berbanding dolar AS](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/41713876066_TBringgitmalaysia.jpg)
Ringgit ditutup rendah berbanding dolar AS
Data CPI AS untuk Julai turun kepada 2.9 peratus pada asas tahunan berbanding tiga peratus pada Jun.
![Lesen Ali Baba: Pembantu penguat kuasa DBKL didenda RM13,000 Lesen Ali Baba: Pembantu penguat kuasa DBKL didenda RM13,000](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71722937565_courtgavelmahkam.jpg)
Lesen Ali Baba: Pembantu penguat kuasa DBKL didenda RM13,000
Hakim Azura Alwi menjatuhkan hukuman itu terhadap Syahrul Riza Md Yusof, 42, dan memerintahkannya dipenjara 21 bulan, jika gagal membayar denda.
![Bursa Malaysia pulih daripada penurunan awal, ditutup hampir mendatar Bursa Malaysia pulih daripada penurunan awal, ditutup hampir mendatar](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721994407_BursaMalaysia.jpg)
Bursa Malaysia pulih daripada penurunan awal, ditutup hampir mendatar
Pada 5 petang, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) meningkat 0.04 peratus atau 0.59 mata kepada 1,612.94 daripada 1,612.35 semasa ditutup pada Rabu.
Jemaah umrah terkandas di Lapangan Terbang Jeddah mahu penjelasan MAS
Puluhan penumpang Malaysia Airlines yang menuju ke Kuala Lumpur dari Jeddah terkandas di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Raja Abdulaziz di Jeddah pada Rabu.
![Pheu Thai calonkan anak perempuan Thaksin sebagai calon PM Pheu Thai calonkan anak perempuan Thaksin sebagai calon PM](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723722582_TBPaetongtarnShinaw.jpg)
Pheu Thai calonkan anak perempuan Thaksin sebagai calon PM
Paetongtarn yang berusia 37 tahun adalah anak perempuan kepada jutawan yang juga bekas Perdana Menteri Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra.
Penari MSS teruja sambut ketibaan kontinjen SUKMA 2024
Kehangatan temasya Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) Sarawak 2024 mula dirasai di pintu masuk wilayah itu apabila suasana balai ketibaan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuching (LTAK) bergema dengan alunan seribu rentak.
![Neymar sertai PSG di Shenzhen Neymar sertai PSG di Shenzhen](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2018-06/51529724805_Neymar.jpg)
Neymar sertai PSG di Shenzhen
PSG bakal menghadapi seteru Ligue 1, AS Monaco, dalam pertembungan merebut Trophee des Champions di Shenzhen pada Sabtu ini.
![Martial milik Manchester United Martial milik Manchester United](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2015-09/51441169251_AnthonyMartial.jpg)
Martial milik Manchester United
Manchester United telah menyempurnakan perpindahan penyerang Perancis Anthony Martial dari AS Monaco dengan nilai perpindahan sebanyak GBP36 juta (RM230 juta) untuk kontrak selama 4 tahun.