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Borussia Dortmund: German police call bombing suspect 'Isis member' as they issue arrest warrant

He has allegedly been in touch with Isis members while in Germany

Samuel Osborne
Thursday 13 April 2017 09:10 BST
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The team bus for Borussia Dortmund football club was damaged in an explosion
The team bus for Borussia Dortmund football club was damaged in an explosion (Getty)

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German prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant against a suspected Islamist detained in connection with the Dortmund bus attack.

They said the suspect was a member of Isis in Iraq and had been in touch with Isis members while in Germany.

The Federal prosecutor's Office said there was no evidence the man, identified as 26-year-old Iraqi Abdul Beset A, had taken part in the bus attack.

He will appear before a judge who will decide whether to approve the arrest warrant issued by prosecutors, which would allow the man to be held for longer than 24 hours.

The statement said the man was a member of the "foreign terrorist organisation" Isis in Iraq, where he led a commando unit of 10 members involved in kidnappings, smuggling, extortion and killings.

He is thought to have arrived in Germany via Turkey in early 2016.

Borussia Dortmund bus blasts injure player Marc Bartra

Three explosive devices packed with metal pins detonated next to the bus as it as it left the hotel where the team was staying to bring them to their Champions League game against Monaco, police said.

A letter claiming responsibility for the attack was recovered at the scene and investigators are examining its authenticity.

Marc Barta, the Dortmund defender, broke a bone in his right wrist in the incident and underwent surgery in hospital.

Coach Thomas Tuchel has said the club had not wanted to play its Champions League game against Monaco a day after the bomb attack.

The German team lost 3-2 in the quarter-final first leg, without star defender Mr Bartra.

Dortmund's players said they had not wanted to play the match so soon, although European football's governing body Uefa responded to the club's anger by insisting it had agreed to the rapid rescheduling.

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