German Mosque Targeted in Arson Attack
Security guards spotted the suspect in the early hours of the day outside the Cologne Central Mosque while he was pouring a liquid, police said in a statement.
The suspect fled on foot after being spotted and left behind his bicycle with a can of gasoline and several lighters.
The police appealed for witnesses and said camera footage will be used to identify the suspect.
Cologne's most prominent mosque, which is run by a Turkish-Muslim umbrella organization, the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), has received numerous threat letters in recent years from right-wing extremists and neo-Nazi groups.
A country of over 82 million people, Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France.
Source: Daily Sabah
