Three mosques in North Rhine-Westphalia received a threatening email. Explosive attacks on the religious houses have been announced. The police evacuated the mosques.
- Three mosques had to be evacuated in North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Faithful houses in Essen, Unna and Hagen received threatening emails .
- The police in Essen blocked the area around the mosque .
Essen - Three mosques in North Rhine-Westphalia had to be evacuated . The Dortmund police reported that "comparable" emails had been received in Unna, Hagen and Essen .
Bomb threat: Mosques in Hagen, Unna and Essen evacuated
In the news, explosions were threatened inside and outside the buildings. “The affected buildings have been evacuated , and no one has been harmed. Roads in the vicinity of the mosques have also been blocked off in order to prevent possible harm to citizens, ”the officials reported.
After threats against mosque: police block district
Especially in Essen , the police operation took on larger proportions. Fortunately, after about an hour, the emergency services were unable to report a find and initiated the opening of the full closure.
Due to a threat of using explosives, we have a major #police operation on the #Westfalenstrasse in #Essen. Please avoid this area so that the emergency services can work undisturbed. Thank you for your understanding
- Police NRW E (@Polizei_NRW_E) February 12, 2020Bomb threats against mosques: is there a connection with Munich?
It is not the first time that Muslim religious communities have been threatened by email . The last such incident occurred in Munich in July 2019. Two mosques received drone messages there.
At that time, the news could be assigned to the right-wing extremist group "Blood & Honor" . The Munich Advocate General confirmed the participation of the neo-Nazi group and was thus able to attribute the crime to the right milieu.
Nazi group threatened Muslims in Munich: Were right-wing extremists at work in NRW as well?
It has not yet been clarified whether the threats in North Rhine-Westphalia can also be attributed to a right-wing group or an individual. After securing the dangerous situation, the Dortmund police will begin the investigation.
This is strongly reminiscent of July last year. After the Munich threats, the Ditib Central Mosque in Cologne also received such an email. Here, too, the police suspected an extreme right-wing motive and researched possible connections with the Munich incidents. The reasons behind the threats in Essen, Unna and Hagen have yet to be determined.
