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1 injured after terrorist attack on Dortmund soccer team

The Borussia Dortmund team bus was attacked with explosives in an act of terrorism, leaving one player with minor injuries.

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Several roadside bombs exploded as the bus was traveling to their stadium for a quarterfinal matchup with Monaco. The bombs contained metal pins, one of which lodged into a headrest on the bus, indicating that the attack could have ended much worse. It is still not clear how the devices detonated or what substance was used, but investigators are still working to determine that. Near the scene of the attack, three letters were found all taking responsibility for the attack. All of the letters have some attachment to ISIS. One letter even begins with the phrase, “In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.” The same letter ends with two demands; each related to the removal of German military operations in ISIS controlled areas in the Middle East. The police have identified two suspects at fault for the attack. A 25-year-old Iraqi man, and a 28-year-old German man, both of whom are already on the authority’s radar for ISIS connections. The Iraqi man has been arrested, but the German man is still on the run.

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The only injury suffered by a Dortmund player was a broken forearm, suffered by 26 year old Spanish defender Marc Bartra. He was hit by shards of broken glass, and broke the radius bone in his right wrist. Bartra was taken into surgery, and will be sidelined for several weeks while he recovers. However he is in high spirits, he tweeted, “Hello! As you can see I am doing much better. Thanks for all your messages! All my strength to my team mates, fans and to @BVB for tonight!” In addition to Bartra’s injury, a police officer that was escorting the bus while riding a motorcycle suffered injuries. He suffered hearing damage and shock, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

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The entire soccer team was shocked by the attack. Dortmund’s Swiss goalkeeper, Roman Burki said, “The bus turned onto the main road, when there was a huge noise - a big explosion. After the bang, we all crouched down in the bus. Anyone who could threw himself on the floor. We did not know if more would come.” Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said, “The whole team is in a state of shock, you can't get pictures like that out of your head.”

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As for the quarterfinal match versus Monaco, it was rescheduled for the following day to allow both teams to relax after the stressful situation. This was necessary for the player’s and fan’s safety, but also put Monaco fans in a peculiar situation. It is a 730 mile trip, so fans could not return home. They needed accommodation for the night, and in a tremendous showing of goodwill, Dortmund fans offered Monaco fans a place to stay. Using the hashtag #bedforawayfans, Dortmund fans offered their homes to Monaco fans for a night. Many pictures of the two fan bases enjoying each other’s company were posted on twitter that night. Monaco also announced that it would give 80 Euros for a hotel room to fans that were stranded in the city.

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The match itself resulted in a 3-2 loss for Dortmund, but the results are not as important as player’s safety, and everyone was very thankful that the attack did not end worse.

By Alex Topor, Sports Editor

April 18, 2017

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