Eiffel Tower evacuated after attack; US mosque bombed

FBI to probe bombing of Minnesota mosque

PARIS 7 August 2017: The Eiffel Tower was evacuated at about 11:30 p.m. (01:30 a.m. Gulf time) Saturday after an attempted attack by an armed man, a police source said on Sunday, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, DPA.

The man was arrested and is being held for questioning, and an investigation has been opened by prosecutors, said Wam.

The tower, which usually opens until midnight, was evacuated as a standard precaution, the source said.

No further details were available, and the Eiffel Tower’s administration could not be immediately reached, the agency added.

Image Credit: Reuters-Wam
Image Credit: Reuters-Wam

FBI to probe bombing of Minnesota mosque

ABU DHABI: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation of an early-morning bombing of a mosque outside Minneapolis that, according to Reuters’ reports, caused no injuries.

Police in Bloomington, Minnesota, were called at 5:05 a.m. CDT (10:05 GMT) about an explosion at the Dar Al Farooq mosque, after a bomb was thrown through the window of the imam’s office while worshipers were gathered for morning prayers, said Wam.

Mohamed Omar, the mosque’s executive director, told reporters in Bloomington that a member of the congregation saw a pickup truck speeding away from the building’s parking lot just after the blast.

“Preliminary investigation indicates the explosion was caused by a destructive device in violation of federal law,” the FBI’s Minneapolis division said on Twitter. The Bloomington Police Department also tweeted a report, saying that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had now joined the probe.

“When officers and fire personnel arrived, what they found there was some smoke, some damage to the building, but no one was injured,” Police Chief Jeff Potts said at a news conference broadcast by local media.

Several other area religious leaders joined members of the mosque on Saturday to express support.

“It’s a tragedy that we have to gather here today,” Curtiss DeYoung, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, told reporters shortly after Omar spoke. “We are here showing solidarity and support for Muslims, not only in this center but Muslims across our state and our country that are under these kind of attacks.”

Reuters went on to say that a May analysis by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found 2,213 anti-Muslim bias incidents in the United States last year, up 57 percent from 2015.

The council urged U.S. mosques to increase their security following the Bloomington incident.

By Sheena Amos