At least 17 people have been hurt in an suspected bomb blast in a commercial district of the German city of Cologne. Police said thousands of nails were found at the scene of the blast, in which one person was critically injured and four people seriously wounded. The explosion occurred in or outside a three-storey building housing both flats and shops in Muelheim district. "We are assuming it was an attack," a police spokesman told Reuters news agency, adding no warning was given.
The blast hit the building - on a busy shopping street in the mainly Turkish district of Muelheim - at about 1600 local time. Police said the explosion damaged several shops on the street and glass littered the ground within a 50m radius. The shops closest to the blast were reportedly a pizzeria and hairdressers' salon. The wounded are being treated in hospital. They include one person critically wounded, and four people described as seriously wounded. Police have sealed off the area around the blast site and are reportedly sweeping the area for suspects. They say they have no clues to the identity or motive of the suspected attackers, but have not ruled out a terrorist attack. |