At around 6 a.m., an explosion occurred on Hohenzollernring Street in Cologne. The building's cleaning staff were injured and taken to hospital. A total of three people were injured in the incident.
Security camera footage from the building shows that a person left a bag containing a box at the entrance before walking away, and the explosion occurred immediately afterwards.
Hamid Nuri, the manager of the venue, said the police called him around 6am to inform him that an explosion had occurred at the entrance to the building where their establishment is located.
Nuri clarified:
“When we arrived, the police, firefighters and an ambulance were present in front of the building. The police are still investigating what exactly happened and will give us information. So we are still waiting for a statement from the police. There are several offices in this building, but for now, we are not allowed to enter.”
Turkophobic attacks on the rise
The explosion caused ceilings at the entrance of the building to collapse and windows to be broken. Police have not yet provided information on the cause of the explosion, saying an investigation is ongoing.
This event is part of a broader context of growing Turcophobia and Islamophobia in Germany. The Turkish community is regularly targeted by acts of violence and hatred, the perpetrators of which are either members of the extreme right or militants of the terrorist organization PKK.
Indeed, several community centres, places of worship and commercial establishments owned by Turks have been targeted on several occasions in recent years.
Notable examples include the burning of the Lauffen mosque, north of Stuttgart, and the ransacking of several other mosques in March 2018.
These incidents reflect a worrying trend in Germany, where acts of Turcophobia and Islamophobia appear to be on the rise. The Turkish community, which makes up a significant portion of the population, is calling for increased awareness and enhanced security measures to protect its members from these violent and discriminatory attacks.
