Letter found near Dortmund bus explosion says athletes and celebrities are on a ‘death list of the Islamic State’

Two injured after explosions hit Borussia Dortmund football team bus Police are still investigating and exploring an Islamist link and an anti-fascist link More attacks might be planned, says North-Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Offenders are still on the run The BVB vs AS Monaco game has been postponed to Wednesday evening

On Tuesday evening, the bus of the BVB Borussia Dortmund football team was struck by three explosions.

Two people were injured in the explosions: Spanish player Marc Barta and a police officer who was near the bus at the time of the attack.

Angela Merkel’s spokesman said the chancellor was “horrified” by this “repugnant” attack, AFP reports. Merkel talked with the BVB CEO on the phone and thanked him, the police, and the fans for their prudent behaviour.

German police is currently probing the authenticity of a letter found near the scene of the attack, and one that has been circulated online. One links the explosions to Islamist extremists and the other to anti-fascist groups.

The North-Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Ralf Jaeger said at a press conference that police were still looking for the perpetrator or perpetrators, and that further attacks might therefore still happen. He added that all possibilities were still being investigated in connection with the attack, including violent fans.

Two letters

German police told Süddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday morning that they are probing an Islamic link in connection with the attack. A letter which starts with the words “In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful,” was found near the bus and claims responsibility for the attack.

The letter refers to the attack on the Berlin Christmas market and claims that German forces are involved in the killing of Muslims in the Islamic State’s caliphate.

Athletes and celebrities in “Germany and other crusader nations” are therefore on a “death list of the Islamic State,” the unsigned, typed letter claims. Dpa reports it also mentions German Chancellor Angela Merkel by name.

People involved in the investigation also told Süddeutsche Zeitung that it was still too early to provide a reliable assessment and that it was conceivable that the actual perpetrators deliberately tried to put the investigators on a wrong track.

I

nvestigators are also looking to prove the authenticity of another letter, German news agency dpa reported on Wednesday morning, which could be linked to an anti-fascist movement. A document circulating online since Tuesday night points out the bus was attacked as a “symbol for BVB’s policy,” which claims the club does not stand up enough against racists, Nazis and right-wing populists.

The dpa is reporting that both letters could be fakes as neither bear the hallmarks usually associated with either group, and further checks are needed.

The German football club has for years had problems with neo-Nazi and right-wing extremists among its extremely dedicated and passionate fan-base. The city where the club is based, Dortmund, has long had deeply entrenched problems with racism.

In 2015, Thomas de Maizière, the German Interior Minister, praised the club for the actions it was taking against the problem. “There are many cities that have a problem with racism,” de Maiziere told Die Welt, “In Dortmund, BVB is different. It has said: Yes, we have the problem and we are opposing it.”

The club has repeatedly tried to rid the club’s fanbase of neo-nazis and populists and launched many initiatives to combat the problem which led to increasingly violent incidents during and after games. In 2014, the club released a video making fun of neo-Nazis with the message “Football and Nazis just don’t go together,” and said in a press release:

“In our stadium and club environment, we do not tolerate a right-wing extremism. We welcome everyone who wants to see good football – intimidation and discrimination of any kind are not tolerated here. Whoever believes that we can abuse our sport and Borussia Dortmund for their inhuman slogans, we say to them that the black – yellow family will be resolutely opposing them!”

But despite the club’s efforts to tackle this problem, it has faced criticism that not enough was being done to remedy the situation.

‘We do not just play for us today. We play for everyone’

Barta, a Spain international has had surgery for a fracture of his right wrist and several glass splinters in the arm had to be removed. BVB President Reinhard Rauball said on Wednesday morning that Barta’s surgery had been successful.

Club chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said, “the team are obviously completely shocked,” and added in a statement on Wednesday that the BVB had alway been particularly strong when it had to withstand difficult situations and that this was perhaps “the most difficult situation we have had in the past decades.”

“We do not just play for us today. We play for everyone. No matter whether Borusse, Bayer or Schalker. We want to show that terror and hatred can never determine our actions. And of course we play for Marc Bartra, who wants to see his team win,” Watzke said.

The area around the explosions is still closed off as a huge police presence is on-site. Part of a highway, which is next to the hotel is blocked and residents who live in the streets surrounding the area are only allowed to enter the area when accompanied by police.

The explosive device against the bus went off near the team’s hotel a few hours before the German team was supposed to play against the AS Monaco, in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday evening.

#bedforawayfans

The postponement left many Monaco fans who were supposed to head back home after the game stranded in the city. To help those stranded fans, the BVB called onto locals to speak up if they could house any Monaco fans for a night:

Many people reached out to the club with their availabilities. One of the Dortmund fans, with the Twitter handle “Vespafoto,” posted a picture on the social media site of himself with Dortmund and Monaco fans in his house:

The tweet, which used the #beforawayfans hashtag which the BVB club had asked fans to use, got retweeted over 13,000 times. He also added the #tableforawayfans hashtag and added “everyone is hungry.”

Football fans, players, clubs and even the German Justice Minister Heiko Mass commended the BVB club and fans for their hospitality.

The official Twitter account for BVB fans advised the people attending the postponed game on Wednesday to be there early as security controls will be extremely strict and wait times to get into the stadium might be extended. Jaeger also told people not to bring any rucksacks to the game.

Police also reassured football fans that there was no threat for the city of Munich and the Bayern München, Real Madrid game taking place there on Wednesday. Munich police said they would deploy an additional 80 officers, bringing the total number of police officers present to 450.

This is a developing story.